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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » Orthorrhapha » Tabanomorpha » Horse and Deer Flies (Tabanidae) » Horse Flies (Tabaninae) » Tabanini » Tabanus » Western Horse Fly (Tabanus punctifer)

Species Tabanus punctifer - Western Horse Fly

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Size · Identification · Range · Season · Life Cycle · Internet References · Works Cited
Western Horsefly - Tabanus punctifer - male Tabanus punctifer, Western Horse Fly - Tabanus punctifer - female Beautiful fly - Tabanus punctifer - female Horse Fly (male) - Tabanus punctifer - male Western Horse Fly - Tabanus punctifer - female Tabanidae: Tabanus punctifer - Tabanus punctifer - male Black Moth - Tabanus punctifer - male Unknown Insect on Deck - Tabanus punctifer - 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
Species punctifer (Western Horse Fly)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Tabanus punctifer Osten Sacken 1876
Explanation of Names
PUNCTIFER = Latin punctum (a point or dot) + -ifer (-carrying, -bringing)
Size
♀ 19-22 mm
Identification
Female: mesonotum covered with creamy hair over a dark reddish background: remainder of thorax dark brown, with concolorous hair: wings brown, paler posteriorly, the cross-veins and furcation distinctly margined with brown; legs black, except basal third of fore tibiae, which are creamy white with long white hair; abdomen black.(1)
Male: Color as in female except that the white of the mesothorax is confined to a lateral band and the outer margin of the scutellum.(1)
Range
BC-CA to KS-TX; Mexico (1)(2)
Season
In CA, from the second week of March through October (one record in late November) (1)
Life Cycle
Egg mass; larva; female laying eggs; adult male:
Internet References
iNaturalist
Works Cited
1.Adult and immature Tabanidae (Diptera) of California
Middlekauff, W. W. and R. S. Lane. 1980. University of California Press.
2.iNaturalist
Contributed by A.W. Thomas on 18 May, 2005 - 5:22am
Additional contributions by Aaron Schusteff, v belov, Robert H. Biagi
Last updated 19 September, 2023 - 8:35am

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