File:
<tabanid.htm> [For
educational purposes only] Glossary <Principal Natural Enemy Groups > <Citations> <Home> |
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] |