Tabanidae {family} - Arthropoda; Insecta; Diptera;

Horse flies and deer flies are true flies in the family Tabanidae in the insect order Diptera. The adults are often large and agile in flight. Only females bite land vertebrates, 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 (Hawaii, Greenland, Iceland). Both horse flies and botflies (Oestridae) are sometimes referred to as gadflies. Adult horse flies feed on nectar and plant exudates; males have weak mouthparts, but females have mouthparts strong enough to bite large animals. This is for the purpose of obtaining enough protein from blood to produce eggs. The mouthparts of females are formed into a stout stabbing organ with two pairs of sharp cutting blades, and a spongelike part used to lap up the blood that flows from the wound. The larvae are predaceous and grow in semiaquatic habitats. Female horse flies can transfer blood-borne diseases from one animal to another through their feeding habit. In areas where those diseases occur, they have been known to carry equine infectious anaemia virus, some trypanosomes, the filarial worm Loa loa, anthrax among cattle and sheep, and tularemia. They can reduce growth rates in cattle and lower the milk output of cows if suitable shelters are not provided. Horse flies have appeared in literature ever since Aeschylus in Ancient Greece mentioned them driving people to "madness" through their persistent pursuit. full article at Wikipedia

Specimen Records:	39,997	Public Records:	20,304
Specimens with Sequences:	39,424	Public Species:	662
Specimens with Barcodes:	38,481	Public BINs:	1,185
Species:	713
Species With Barcodes:	646
Species List - Progress		Access Published & Released Data

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Collected from 64 countries. Top 20: Show All Countries

Costa Rica 11180 Australia 339 Bangladesh 171 Canada 6309 Thailand 327 Trinidad and Tobago 134 Peru 2783 Norway 300 Ecuador 134 United States 665 Mexico 248 Suriname 121 Brazil 446 Argentina 229 Tanzania 105 South Africa 373 Colombia 208 Honduras 97 Germany 363 Pakistan 197