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The term "horse-fly" refers primarily to Tabaninae that are typically larger and stouter, and that lack the banded wings deer flies have. [7] [8] Other common names include tabanids, gadflies, green-headed flies, and green flies. [7] The word "Tabanus" was first recorded by Pliny the Younger and has survived as the generic name. In general ...
Males of these horse flies feed on plant juices, while female are bloodsuckers, [7] feeding mainly on mammalian blood, as they require a blood meal before they are able to reproduce. They may be very annoying for cattle, but usually they do not bite people.
These horse flies can be encountered during the daylight hours from late May through late October. [5] The males are harmless and feed on nectar, [7] while the females feed on mammal blood (hematophagy) (hence the Latin name Haematopota pluvialis, literally meaning 'blooddrinker of the rains'), mainly cattle and horses, needing blood for developing eggs.
Tabaninae is a subfamily in the family Tabanidae commonly known as horse flies. There are more than 3000 described species in Tabaninae. There are more than 3000 described species in Tabaninae. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]
Tabanus nigrovittatus, also known as the greenhead horse fly, salt marsh greenhead, or simply the greenhead fly, greenhead or greenfly, [7] [8] is a species of horse-fly commonly found around the coastal marshes and wetlands of the Eastern United States. They are smaller than most horsefly species, instead being close in size to a common housefly.
Adult horse flies can be found in July and August. Males of this species feed on plant juices, while female are bloodsuckers. The females have a high fecundity. They can lay about 500 eggs at an oviposition. The larvae pass through 10–13 instars and the full life-cycle lasts 3–5 years. This horsefly may cause appreciable damages on stock farms.
On the other end of the spectrum, horse flies and deer flies use "blade-like" mouthparts to slash the skin before eating the spilling blood, which causes large, painful bites, Frye says.
Diptera is a large order containing more than 150,000 species including horse-flies, [a] crane flies, hoverflies, mosquitoes and others. Flies have a mobile head, with a pair of large compound eyes, and mouthparts designed for piercing and sucking (mosquitoes, black flies and robber flies), or for lapping and sucking in the other groups. Their ...