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DIPTERA, Tabanidae -- <Images> & <Juveniles>

Please refer also to the following links for details on this group:

Tabanidae = Link 1

Most adult "horseflies" are blood suckers, and the larvae are mostly aquatic or semiaquatic, feeding on various kinds of animals occurring in the medium in which they develop. One preferred food are Tipulidae larvae and other groups inhabiting the banks of ponds and streams. Earthworms and snails are also attacked. Tabanus stigma F. is known to develop in drying seaweed in Puerto Rico, the larvae feeding on sand fly larvae. Davis (1919) recorded several species of Tabanus as predaceous on Scarabaeidae grubs. The eggs of most species are laid in large masses on foliage overhanging water or on stones or other nearby objects. With some species they are found in a single compact layer, the eggs placed vertically, side by side; while in others they are several layers deep (Clausen 1940/62)

References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>, [Additional references may be found at: MELVYL Library]