Distribution
Most of Europe including Great Britain , Algeria, Eastern Siberia and Northern China. Introduced and established in the Eastern United States . It has also recently spread to Finland from Russia in the early 1960s where it primarily feeds on moose; though it is spreading to reindeer.
Evolution
Both males and females of ''Lipoptena cervi'' consume blood from their hosts, feeding lasts 15 to 25 minutes. The female produces one larva at a time and retains the developing larva in her body until it is ready to pupate. The larva feeds on the secretions of a "milk gland" in the uterus of its mother. The female will give birth to one fully mature white pre-pupa. She may produce larvae for as long as 10 months. A newborn pre-pupa will immediately darken, form the puparium and begin to pupate pupae on the forest floor, or where the deer bedded. After pupation, the winged adult emerges from the puparium and flies in search of a host. Upon finding a host the adult fly wings breaks off and it is permanently associated with its host.References:
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