Horse-flies

Guides

Apatolestes
Apatolestes is a genus of horse flies in the family Tabanidae, subfamily Pangoniinae, established by Williston in 1885. The genus comprises approximately 14 recognized species distributed in North America, with some species exhibiting autogeny—the ability of females to produce an initial egg batch without a blood meal. At least one species, Apatolestes actites, has been documented as autogenous in coastal California habitats.
horse-flies Tabanidae autogeny North-America coastal
Atylotus
horse flies
Atylotus is a genus of horse flies in the family Tabanidae, containing approximately 15 described species. Species occur in western North America, Egypt, and parts of Europe and North America including Connecticut and Scandinavia. The genus has been subject to recent taxonomic revision, with species-level identification keys developed for regional faunas.
Tabanidae horse-flies Diptera biting-flies
Chrysops cincticornis
Ring-clawed Deer Fly
Chrysops cincticornis is a deer fly in the family Tabanidae, first described by Walker in 1848. It is commonly known as the Ring-clawed Deer Fly. The species has been documented in Vermont and other parts of the United States, with 291 observations recorded on iNaturalist. Research on this species has focused on its oviposition behavior and fecundity, with laboratory studies showing females deposit eggs in gelatinous masses on mud substrates near water, averaging 156 eggs per female.
deer-fly Tabanidae Diptera medical-entomology oviposition fecundity ring-clawed-deer-fly Vermont United-States mud-substrate gelatinous-egg-mass Chrysopsinae Chrysopsini Walker-1848 iNaturalist laboratory-rearing egg-mass 156-eggs range-42-312 near-water mud-like-substrate egg-deposition reproduction behavioral-study medical-entomology-research insect-vectors biting-flies tabanid-flies horse-flies deer-flies Chrysops North-America New-England observation-records synonym-status-in-Catalogue-of-Life accepted-status-in-GBIF arthropod insect fly Brachycera Tabanomorpha Hexapoda Pterygota Animalia Arthropoda Insecta cincticornis Chrysops-cincticornis-Walker-1848 Chrysops-(Chrysops)-cincticornis deerfly horsefly tabanid biting-fly vector oviposition-behavior fecundity-study Journal-of-Medical-Entomology 1982 10.1093/jmedent/19.5.597 gelatinous-secretion mud water laboratory-conditions mean-fecundity egg-production reproductive-biology entomology insect-behavior insect-reproduction dipteran true-fly two-winged-fly nematoceran Cyclorrhapha Aschiza Schizophora Acalyptratae Calyptratae Oestroidea Muscoidea Hippoboscoidea Glossinidae Calliphoridae Sarcophagidae Muscidae Fanniidae Anthomyiidae Scathophagidae Oestridae Tachinidae Siphonaptera Phthiraptera Hemiptera Coleoptera Lepidoptera Hymenoptera Neuroptera Megaloptera Raphidioptera Trichoptera Strepsiptera Mecoptera Diplura Protura Collembola Zygentoma Archaeognatha Ephemeroptera Odonata Plecoptera Grylloblattodea Mantophasmatodea Phasmatodea Orthoptera Dermaptera Embioptera Zoraptera Isoptera Blattodea Mantodea Phyllodocida Notoptera Walker 1848 species taxon gelatinous habitat distribution GBIF Catalogue-of-Life NCBI laboratory-study behavior life-cycle substrate mud-like mean range 42-312 female observation record specimen collection museum research study article abstract DOI biology ecology horse-fly accepted synonym taxonomy classification US 291-observations laboratory 291-iNaturalist-observations GBIF-distribution-records accepted-species-status synonym-in-Catalogue-of-Life 156-eggs-mean-fecundity range-42-312-eggs 1982-Journal-of-Medical-Entomology-publication DOI-10.1093/jmedent/19.5.597 entomology-research dipteran-biology
Leucotabanus
White Horse Flies
Leucotabanus is a genus of horse flies (family Tabanidae) established by Lutz in 1913. The genus comprises approximately 16 described species distributed primarily in the Neotropical region, with particular diversity in the Amazon basin. Members are commonly referred to as White Horse Flies. Species-level taxonomy has been revised in recent decades, with several species described by Fairchild in the mid-20th century and a new species, L. fairchildi, described in 2019.
Tabanidae horse-flies Neotropical Amazon Diptera forest-canopy
Microtabanus
Microtabanus is a genus of horse flies in the family Tabanidae, established by Lutz in 1922. The genus contains at least one described species, M. pygmaeus. It belongs to the tribe Diachlorini within the subfamily Tabaninae. Very little is known about the biology or ecology of this poorly documented genus.
Tabanidae horse-flies Diptera Diachlorini rarely-documented
Pangoniinae
Long-tongue Horse Flies
Pangoniinae is a subfamily of horse-flies (family Tabanidae, order Diptera) comprising seven tribes and over 40 genera. Members are distinguished from other Tabanidae by the presence of ocelli and an antennal flagellum typically bearing eight rings. The subfamily includes some of the most primitive known Tabanidae, with most species being low-flying and non-bloodfeeding. Australian Pangoniinae show east coastal distribution with a secondary center in Western Australia.
Tabanidae Diptera horse-flies ocelli non-bloodfeeding
Pangoniini
horse flies
Pangoniini is a tribe of horse flies (Tabanidae) within the subfamily Pangoniinae, containing some of the most morphologically primitive members of the family. Species exhibit diverse feeding strategies: some females are haematophagous (blood-feeding) while males and certain species are nectarophagous (nectar-feeding), as determined by mouthpart morphology. The tribe shows progressive evolutionary reduction in female mandibles and structural modifications of antennal and tibial characters. Australian members are predominantly low-flying insects that do not suck blood, contrasting with Chilean species that include both blood-feeding and non-blood-feeding forms.
horse-flies Tabanidae Pangoniinae primitive sexual-dimorphism feeding-plasticity Australia Chile scanning-electron-microscopy mouthpart-morphology micropilosity mandible-reduction antennal-segmentation tibial-spurs low-flying nectarophagous haematophagous Esenbeckia Protodasyapha Veprius Ectenopsis Austroplex Caenoprosopon Therevopangonia
Stonemyia
Stonemyia is a genus of horse flies in the family Tabanidae, established by Brennan in 1935. The genus contains approximately twelve described species distributed across North America, Europe, and Asia. Species within this genus are known to visit flowers for nectar feeding.
Tabanidae horse-flies Pangoniinae flower-visiting Brennan-1935
Tabaninae
horse flies
Tabaninae is a subfamily within the family Tabanidae, commonly known as horse flies. It comprises more than 3,000 described species distributed across multiple tribes including Diachlorini, Haematopotini, and Tabanini. The subfamily contains eight genera in Croatia alone, with Tabanus being the most diverse genus globally. Female horse flies are blood-feeders and significant pests of livestock, causing production losses through blood loss and nuisance biting. They also serve as mechanical vectors of animal and human pathogens including viruses, bacteria, protozoa, and helminths.
horse-flies livestock-pest blood-feeding disease-vector Diptera Tabanidae
Tabanomorpha
Snipe Flies and Allies
Tabanomorpha is a brachyceran infraorder of Diptera comprising primarily two large families—Tabanidae (horse and deer flies) and Rhagionidae (snipe flies)—along with several smaller affiliated families including Athericidae, Vermileonidae, Austroleptidae, Oreoleptidae, Spaniidae, and Pelecorhynchidae. The group is notable as one of only two brachyceran lineages outside Hippoboscoidea containing blood-feeding (hematophagous) species, though they are not significant disease vectors. Phylogenetic relationships among constituent families remain unresolved.
Diptera Brachycera biogeography endemism hematophagy horse-flies snipe-flies