Identification, Images, & Information
For Insects, Spiders & Their Kin
For the United States & Canada
 

Register · Log In
HomeGuideID RequestRecentFrassForumsDonateHelp
Clickable Guide
Moths Butterflies Flies Caterpillars Flies Dragonflies Flies Mantids Cockroaches Bees and Wasps Walkingsticks Earwigs Ants Termites Hoppers and Kin Hoppers and Kin Beetles True Bugs Fleas Grasshoppers and Kin Ticks Spiders Scorpions Centipedes Millipedes

Calendar
Upcoming Events

Registration is open for the 2024 BugGuide gathering in Idaho July 24-27

Moth submissions from National Moth Week 2023

Photos of insects and people from the 2022 BugGuide gathering in New Mexico, July 20-24

Photos of insects and people from the Spring 2021 gathering in Louisiana, April 28-May 2

Photos of insects and people from the 2019 gathering in Louisiana, July 25-27

Photos of insects and people from the 2018 gathering in Virginia, July 27-29


Previous events
TaxonomyBrowse
Info
ImagesLinksBooksData
Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Orthorrhapha » Tabanomorpha » Horse and Deer Flies (Tabanidae) » Horse Flies (Tabaninae) » Tabanini » Tabanus

Genus Tabanus

Classification · Other Common Names · Pronunciation · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Remarks · Works Cited
Id request - Tabanus pallidescens - female Tabanidae: Tabanus atratus - Tabanus atratus - female Horse fly - Tabanus molestus - male large fly saved from the pool - Tabanus limbatinevris horsefly070419-2 - Tabanus Horse fly - Tabanus turbidus - female Tabanus? Perhaps T. sublongus? - Tabanus - male horse fly - Tabanus sulcifrons - female
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon (Orthorrhapha)
Infraorder Tabanomorpha
Family Tabanidae (Horse and Deer Flies)
Subfamily Tabaninae (Horse Flies)
Tribe Tabanini
Genus Tabanus
Other Common Names
Greenheads
Pronunciation
ta-bā'-nus(1) (ta-BAY-nus)
Explanation of Names
Tabanus Linnaeus 1758
name used by the Romans for a kind of biting fly(1)(2)
Numbers
>100 spp. in our area(3), >1400 total(4)
Size
8-27 mm(5)
Identification
diverse genus; examples:

The 6 views shown below should enable any North American tabanid (Tabanus, Hybomitra and other Tabanid genera) to be identified to species:
dorsal view of entire fly to show abdominal pattern
lateral view of entire fly to show leg colour
face view to show frons, calli, eye pattern, and palps
frontal/lateral view of face to show antennae, palps, and eye pattern
lateral view of face to show antennae, palps, and eye pattern
another view of mouth parts
wing to show spots (if any) and colour of wing membrane
Range
holarctic(6); in our area, most diverse in so. US, with only 30 spp. in Canada and Alaska(5)
Season
Throughout year in Florida; spring and summer further north.
Remarks
The 108 taxa (107 spp., 1 ssp.) are mostly southern (USA) compared to the mostly northern (Canada) genus Hybomitra. For example, Virginia has an estimated 53 spp. of Tabanus and 11 spp. of Hybomitra, whereas New Brunswick has 8 Tabanus spp. and 20 Hybomitra spp.
Works Cited
1.The Century Dictionary: an encyclopedic lexicon of the English language
2.Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms
Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.
3.American Insects: A Handbook of the Insects of America North of Mexico
Ross H. Arnett. 2000. CRC Press.
4.Catalogue of Life
5.Tabanidae of Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains 2: a photographic key to the genera and species of Tabaninae...
Thomas A.W. 2011. Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification No.13.
6.Thompson F.C., Pape T., Evenhuis N.L. (2013) Systema Dipterorum, Version 1.5
Contributed by A.W. Thomas on 16 February, 2005 - 3:39pm
Additional contributions by cotinis, Beatriz Moisset, Robin McLeod, Chuck Entz, Nick Block, v belov
Last updated 16 August, 2023 - 3:58am

Disclaimer: Dedicated naturalists volunteer their time and resources here to provide this service. We strive to provide accurate information, but we are mostly just amateurs attempting to make sense of a diverse natural world. If you need expert professional advice, contact your local extension office.

Contributors own the copyright to and are solely responsible for contributed content.
Click the contributor's name for licensing and usage information.
Everything else copyright © 2003-2024 Iowa State University, unless otherwise noted.

Bugguide is hosted by:

Plant Pathology, Entomology and Microbiology at Iowa State University logo

Printer Friendly Version 		Terms of Use
Privacy Statement
Site Map
Contact