Tabanus nigrovittatus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Tabanidae
Subfamily: Tabaninae
Tribe: Tabanini
Genus: Tabanus
Species:
T. nigrovittatus
Binomial name
Tabanus nigrovittatus
Synonyms

Tabanus nigrovittatus, also known as the greenhead horse fly, salt marsh greenhead, or simply the greenhead fly, greenhead or greenfly,[7][8] is a species of biting horse-fly commonly found around the coastal marshes and wetlands of the Eastern United States. They are smaller than most horsefly species, instead being close in size to a common housefly. The biting females are a considerable pest to both humans and animals while they seek a source of blood protein to produce additional eggs:[9] greenhead larvae develop in the mud of salt marshes, and adult flies mate and lay their first group of eggs in the marsh, but to lay more eggs a female fly needs to drink an animal's blood, and so female greenheads which have laid eggs fly inland to look for prey in the area bordering the marsh; they can stay on land looking for animals to bite for up to four weeks.[9] Their bites are more painful than those of mosquitoes, since greenheads feed by cutting a wound in the skin with scissor-like mouth parts and sucking the blood released through it.[10] Females live for three to four weeks and may lay about 100 to 200 eggs per blood meal.[11] The eggs are laid on the grass in a salt marsh; the larvae live in the intertidal mud of the salt marsh for one or two years, preying on other invertebrates, before pupating in early spring.[9][12] The adult flies emerge in late spring and are most common from late June to August.[9][12][13]

Greenheads are large enough that their population cannot be controlled with insecticide without damaging the ecosystem.[9] Affected coastal communities install black box traps in marsh areas to reduce and control T. nigrovittatus populations.[10][14]

References

  1. ↑ Macquart, P.J.M. (1847). Diptères exotiques nouveaux ou peu connus. 2.e supplement. Paris: Roret. pp. 104 pp, 6 pls.
  2. ↑ Marten, J. (1883). "New Tabanidae". The Canadian Entomologist. 15: 110–112. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  3. ↑ Walker, F. (1850). Diptera. Part I, pp. 1-76, pls. 1-2. In [Saunders, W. W. (ed.)], Insecta Saundersiana: or characters of undescribed insects in the collection of William Wilson Saunders, Esq., F.R.S., F.L.S., &c. Vol. 1. London: Van Voorst. p. 474.
  4. ↑ Szilády, Z. (1926). "New and Old World horseflies". Biologica Hung. 1 (7): 1–30, 1 pl.
  5. ↑ Philip, C.B. (1957). "New records of Tabanidae (Diptera) in the Antilles" (PDF). American Museum Novitates. 1858: 16. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
  6. ↑ Walker, F. (1848). List of the specimens of dipterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. part 1. London: British Museum. pp. 1–229.
  7. ↑ Moucha, J. (1976). "Horse-flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) of the World. Synoptic Catalogue" (PDF). Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae Supplements. 7: 1–320. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  8. ↑ Burger, J. F. (1995). "Catalog of Tabanidae (Diptera) in North America north of Mexico". International Contributions on Entomology. Associated Publishers. 1 (1): 1–100.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Hansens, Elton; Race, Stuart. "The Greenhead and You". Rutgers Equine Science Center. Rutgers. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  10. 1 2 Graves, Annie. "Greenhead Flies | What are Greenheads?". Yankee Magazine. New England Network. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  11. ↑ Stubbs, A. & Drake, M. (2001). British Soldierflies and their Allies.
  12. 1 2 "Greenhead Biology". Cape Cod Mosquito Control Project. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04.
  13. ↑ Hawk, Tim (2021-07-20). "New Jersey is powerless against greenhead flies. Here's why". NJ.com. Archived from the original on 2021-09-22.
  14. ↑ Forman, Ethan (2022-04-13). "Gloucester takes aim at greenheads". Gloucester Daily Times. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07.

Media related to Tabanus nigrovittatus at Wikimedia Commons


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.