{{short description|Genus of flies}} {{Italic title}} {{Automatic_taxobox |image = Eye gnat.jpg |image_caption = An Eye gnat, a small 1-2mm long fly. Image is a crop of a 1:1 magnification. Pictured in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on a piece of fish. | taxon = Tricimba | authority = Lioy, 1864 }}
'''''Hippelates''''' is a genus of flies in the family Chloropidae that are often referred to as '''eye gnats''' or '''eye flies''' (the name is also used for members of the Old World genus ''Siphunculina'').
==Description== They are very small ({{convert|1.5|-|2.5|mm|2|disp=or}} long) flies that frequently congregate around the eyes to lap at the fluids. They are primarily a nuisance pest, and do not bite. They have been linked with the spread of bovine mastitis in North America, and in certain tropical regions, they are capable of vectoring disease-causing bacteria (e.g., yaws).{{cn|date=December 2022}}
''Hippelates pusio'' is considered to be the vector for anaplasmosis, bovine mastitis, and ''Haemophilus'' spp. which cause bacterial conjunctivitis or 'pinkeye'.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG369/notes/eye_gnats.html|title = Integrated Pest Management | NC State Extension}}</ref>
==Distribution== ''Hippelates'' are Neotropical and Nearctic in distribution.<ref>Sabrosky, Curtis W. Nomenclature of the Eye Gnats (Hippelates spp.) Am J Trop Med 1951 s1-31: 257-258 [http://www.ajtmh.org/cgi/content/abstract/s1-31/2/257 full text]</ref>
==Species== * ''Hippelates bishoppi'' * ''Hippelates dorsalis'' <small>Loew, 1869</small> * ''Hippelates genalis'' <small>Loew, 1869</small> * ''Hippelates impressus'' <small>Becker, 1912</small> * ''Hippelates nobilis'' <small>Loew, 1863</small> * ''Hippelates pallipes'' <small>Loew, 1863</small> * ''Hippelates plebejus'' <small>Loew, 1863</small> * ''Hippelates proboscideus'' <small>Williston, 1896</small> * ''Hippelates pusio'' <small>Loew</small> * ''Hippelates saundersi'' <small>Kumm, 1936</small>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://biostor.org/reference/84110 Entomological Society of Washington]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q10767191}}
Category:Insect vectors of animal pathogens Category:Insect vectors of human pathogens Category:Veterinary entomology Category:Chloropidae genera Category:Oscinellinae
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