| Tabanus bromius | |
|---|---|
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| Tabanus bromius female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Tabanidae |
| Subfamily: | Tabaninae |
| Tribe: | Tabanini |
| Genus: | Tabanus |
| Species: | T. bromius |
| Binomial name | |
| Tabanus bromius | |
| Synonyms | |
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Tabanus bromius, sometimes called the band-eyed brown horsefly, is a species of biting horseflies. [9]
Tabanus bromius is one of the smaller European Tabanus, at about 13.5–15 millimetres (0.5–0.6 in) body length. [10]
The mesonotum is grayish and bears on the top five indistinct longitudinal lines, while the abdomen is black, hairy and carries three rows of yellowish spots. The ventral side of the abdomen is light gray. The head is silver-gray and the compound eyes are green, with a violet-red transversal band. The wings are transparent, have brown veins and a length of 10.5–11 millimetres (0.41–0.43 in).
The females of these flies are bloodsuckers, feeding on mammalian blood, mainly cattle and horses, but they can also bite humans. The males feed on nectar, especially on Angelica sylvestris . The activity of these horseflies takes place in plain daylight, preferably in hot and muggy days and in the absence of wind. They are particularly aggressive during the full and late summer and bites cause painful welts.
The adult horsefly flies from late May until early September.
This species is widespread in most of Europe, in the eastern Palearctic realm, in North Africa, and in the Near East.
These horseflies prefer open spaces, such as hills or sparsely wooded areas.
Horse-flies or horseflies are true flies in the family Tabanidae in the insect order Diptera. They are often large and agile in flight, and only the female horseflies bite animals, including humans, to obtain blood. They prefer to fly in sunlight, avoiding dark and shady areas, and are inactive at night. They are found all over the world except for some islands and the polar regions. Both horse-flies and botflies (Oestridae) are sometimes referred to as gadflies.
Tabanus bovinus, sometimes called the pale giant horse-fly, is a species of biting horse-fly. As the scientific name suggests, it prefers bovine animals as the source of blood, although it may bite other kind of mammals as well. The insect is relatively large for a horse-fly, adults usually being 25–30 mm long. Like most other horseflies, its compound eyes are very colorful with stripe-like patterns. Its body and wings are mostly colored brownish gray. It is quite fast and an able flier, being capable of evading most attempts to swat it with ease. It bites humans infrequently, because of its preference of bovine animals. This loud-buzzing horse-fly can be a nuisance, as it circles around its target and occasionally lands to deliver a bite. However, to humans it is considerably less harmful than deer flies (Chrysops), which bite much more vigorously.
Tabanus autumnalis, the large marsh horsefly, is a medium-sized species of biting horse-fly. It is somewhat scarce compared to T. bromius and T. bovinus. This species shows slightly more of a preference for coastal marsh than some of the other European Tabanus, sometime even found in saltmashes. Wing length is 13–16 mm and about 16–22 mm in body length.
Tabanus cordiger also known as the plain-eyed grey horsefly is a species of biting horse-fly.
Tabanus glaucopis, also known as the downland horsefly, is a species of biting horse-fly.
Tabanus maculicornis also known as the narrow-winged horsefly is a species of biting horse-fly.
Tabanus miki also known as the plain-eyed brown horsefly is a species of biting horse-fly.
Tabanus sudeticus, also known as the dark giant horsefly, is a species of biting horse-fly. It is the heaviest fly in Europe.
Tabanus spodopterus also known as the black horned giant horsefly is a species of biting horse-fly. It is widespread in Europe, but only one doubtful specimen has been found in the United Kingdom.
Tabanus eggeri is a Mediterranean species of biting horse-fly, found in southern France, Italy, Albania, Croatia, Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Portugal and Morocco. There are also unverified accounts of sightings in Spain and Israel.
Haematopota pluvialis, the common horse fly or notch-horned cleg fly, or simply cleg in Scotland and northern parts of Ireland, is a species belonging to the family Tabanidae subfamily Tabaninae.
Philipomyia aprica is a species of horse fly of the family Tabanidae, subfamily Tabaninae.
Chrysops caecutiens, common name splayed deer fly, is a species of horse fly belonging to the family Tabanidae. It is also known by the colloquial name Scotch Cleg.
Hybomitra aterrima is a species of horse flies in the family Tabanidae.
Haematopota grandis is a species of Horse-fly. Its common name is the long-horned cleg. It is native to Europe, where it is distributed in Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, and all states of former Yugoslavia.
Tabanus quatuornotatus is a species of biting horse-fly.
Hybomitra montana, the slender-horned horsefly, is a species of horse flies in the family Tabanidae.
Atylotus fulvus is a species of 'horse flies' belonging to the family Tabanidae.
Atylotus is a genus of horse flies in the family Tabanidae.
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