Lipoptena cervi, the deer ked or deer fly, is a species of biting fly in the family of louse flies, Hippoboscidae. These flies are commonly encountered in temperate areas of Europe, Siberia, and northern China. They have been introduced to North America.[12] They are parasites of elk, deer, and other deer family members, burrowing through the fur and sucking the blood of the host animals. Adults are only 5–7 mm (0.20–0.28 in) in length and brownish in colour. Their bodies are flat and elastic, making their removal difficult. L. cervi is a poor flier and can only fly for short distances. Once the insect reaches its target, it sheds its wings and starts burrowing through the fur.
^Curtis, J. (1824). British entomology. Vol. 1. London: Privately published. pp. 11–14.
^Olivier, G.A. (1792). Insectes [(i.e., Arthropoda) Pt. 5]. Vol. 7, pp. 1-368 (=livr. 54) [1793.05.13]. In Société de Gens de Lettres, de Savants et d'Artistes Encyclopedie methodique. Paris: Histoire naturelle.
^ abOlfers, I.F.M. von (1816). De vegetativis et animatis corporibus in corporibus animatis reperiundis commentarius. Pars I. Berolini [=Berlin]: Maureriana. pp. vi + 112 + [1] pp., 1 pl.
^Roser, K.L.F. von (1840). "Erster Nachtrag zu dem im Jahre 1834 bekannt gemachten Verzeichnisse in Wurttemberg vorkommender zweiflugliger Insekten". Correspondenzbl. K. Wurttemb. Landw. Ver., Stuttgart. 37 [=N.S. 17] (1): 49–64.