horse fly
(Tabanus spp.)
| Conservation Status | IUCN Red List |
not listed |
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NatureServe |
not listed |
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Minnesota |
not listed |
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| Occurrence | Common |
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| Flight/Season | Spring and summer |
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| Habitat | Often near ponds, streams, and marshes. |
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| Size | Total Length: Up to 11 ⁄16″ |
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| Photo by Bill Reynolds | |||||||
| Identification | These are large, stout-bodied horse flies, sometimes called true horse flies. The body is usually gray or blackish. The wings usually do not have dark spots, though in some species the wings are entirely black. The eyes of many species are brightly colored or iridescent. Some are bright green, some are striped. The eyes of the male meet, while those of the female are separated. The antennae have only three segments. The third segment is elongated and subdivided, and has a basal tooth-like projection. The fourth segment of the hind leg does not have spurs at the top (apex). The last segment of the foot (tarsus) has 3 pads. |
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| Similar Species |
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| Larval Food |
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| Adult Food | Males feed on nectar and pole of flowers. Females take blood of larger mammals. |
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| Life Cycle | The larvae are aquatic. |
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| Behavior | Unlike deer flies, the flight of horseflies can be silent, allowing them to land stealthily on exposed skin. |
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| Distribution |  |
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| Comments |
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| Taxonomy | Order: |
Diptera (gnats, mosquitoes, true flies) |
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Suborder: |
Brachycera (circular-seamed flies, mouches muscoïdes, muscoid flies, short-horned flies) |
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Infraorder: |
Tabanomorpha |
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Superfamily: |
Tabanoidea |
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Family: |
Tabanidae (horseflies and deerflies) |
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Subfamily: |
Tabaninae |
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Tribe: |
Tabanini |
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| Subordinate Taxa | There are hundreds of species of horseflies in the genus Tabanus worldwide, more than 100 in North America north of Mexico. At least 12 species have been recorded in Minneosta. |
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| Synonyms |
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| Common Names |
horse fly greenhead |
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Glossary
Tarsus
The last two to five subdivisions of an insect’s leg, attached to the tibia; the foot. Plural: tarsi.
Tibia
The fourth segment of an insect leg, after the femur and before the tarsus (foot).
Visitor Photos |
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Bill Reynolds |
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An image of a biter! The dreaded Horse Fly as she waits for the next victim |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
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Slideshows |
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Visitor Videos |
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Other Videos |
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| Horsefly (Tabanus) larva crawling and digging in the mud Nature in Motion |
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About
Published on Aug 6, 2016 This horsefly larva is carnivorous and may take a few years to develop. They are capable of quickly immobilizing/killing animals as large as frogs. Do not handle; it's bite feels like a wasp sting. Adult females feed on mammalian blood; males, which lack mandibles, feed on nectar and plant juices. Adults are a pest to cattle and other livestock. Millions of dollars have been spent trying to control them. (Insecta: Diptera: Tabanidae) |
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| Horse Fly (Tabanidae: Tabanus) in Hand Carl Barrentine |
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About
Published on Aug 1, 2010 Photographed at Kelly Slough NWR, North Dakota (31 July 2010). |
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| Horse-fly bites and wounds me: an experiment and explanation WorldScott |
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About
Published on May 27, 2014 Horse-fly bites and wounds me: an experiment and explanation - I allow a vampire-like horse-fly to bite my hand wounding me to show what can happen. I strongly recommend not performing this experiment because there are horse-flies in certain parts of the world that are carriers of disease. For those horse-flies that do not carry disease, though rare, it is still possible for certain individuals to suffer a case of life-threatening anaphylactic shock from what would otherwise be a "benign" bite. More info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horse-fly More WorldScott.com / IMG * videos: http://WorldScott.com/ |
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| Horse Fly (Tabanidae: Tabanus) Behavior Carl Barrentine |
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About
Published on Jun 28, 2011 I observed two flies exhibiting this behavior (i.e., employing outstretched forelegs as either a funneling or gathering technique). I'm speculating that this may be a feeding behavior. Could this individual be gathering organic debris on foreleg tarsal setae. These large, biting flies are pollen-eaters, too. Photographed at the Turtle River State Park, North Dakota (27 June 2011). |
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| Horse Fly (Tabanidae: Tabanus) on Wall Carl Barrentine |
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About
Published on Jun 20, 2010 Photographed at Grand Forks, North Dakota (19 June 2010). |
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Visitor Sightings |
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| Bill Reynolds 6/16/2017 |
Location: Pennington Co. MN An image of a biter! The dreaded Horse Fly as she waits for the next victim |
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MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
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