Deer fly

{{Short description|Subfamily of flies}} {{Automatic taxobox | image = Chrysops P1600063a.jpg | image_caption = ''Chrysops'' | taxon = Chrysopsinae | authority = Lutz, 1905 | subdivision_ranks = Tribes | subdivision =*Chrysopsini Enderlein, 1922<ref name="Enderlein1922">{{cite journal |last1=Enderlein |first1=G. |title=Ein neues Tabanidensystem |journal=Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin |date=1922 |volume=10 |pages=333–351 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/11848849#page/347/mode/1up |access-date=7 July 2022}}</ref> * Bouvieromyiini Séguy, 1949 * Rhinomyzini Enderlein, 1922<ref name="Enderlein1922"/> | synonyms = *Silvinae Lutz, 1909<ref name="LutzNeiva1909">{{cite journal |last1=Lutz |first1=A. |last2=Neiva |first2=A. |title=Contribuições para o conhecimento da fauna indijena de Tabanidas |journal=Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz |date=1909 |volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=28–32 |doi=10.1590/S0074-02761909000100004 |url=https://www.scielo.br/j/mioc/a/QKKJQ5w4TR45DqJkH8vXPmh/?format=pdf&lang=pt |access-date=31 December 2021}}</ref> }}

'''Chrysopsinae''' is an insect subfamily in the family Tabanidae commonly known as '''deer flies''' or '''sheep flies''' and are bloodsucking insects considered pests to humans and cattle.<ref name="townsend">{{cite web |last1=Townsend |first1=Lee |title=Horse Flies and Deer Flies |url=https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/ef511 |website=University of Kentucky |publisher=University of Kentucky College of Agriculture |access-date=14 August 2018}}</ref> They are large flies with large brightly-coloured compound eyes, and large clear wings with dark bands.<ref name="purdue">{{cite web |title=Horse and Deer Flies |url=https://extension.entm.purdue.edu/publichealth/insects/tabanid.html |website=Medical Entomology |publisher=Purdue University |access-date=15 August 2018}}</ref> They are larger than the common housefly and smaller than the horse-fly.<ref name="Moucha1976">{{cite journal |last1=Moucha |first1=J. |title=Horse-flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) of the World. Synoptic Catalogue. |journal=Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae Supplements |date=1976 |volume=7 |pages=1–320 |url=https://www.aemnp.eu/data/article-975/956-7_0_7.pdf |access-date=11 September 2022}}</ref><ref name=Burger1995>{{Cite journal | title = Catalog of Tabanidae (Diptera) in North America north of Mexico | date = 1995 | last1 = Burger | first1 = J. F. |journal=International Contributions on Entomology|volume=1 |issue=1 |pages=1–100| publisher = Associated Publishers}}</ref>

Deer flies lay between 100 and 800 eggs on vegetation near water or dampness in batches. During the larval stage, which lasts one to three weeks, they feed on small creatures or rotting organic matter near or in the water.<ref name="townsend"/> After a pupal stage, they emerge as adults in late spring and summer. While male deer flies collect pollen, female deer flies feed on blood, which they require to produce eggs.<ref name="psu">{{cite web |title=Chrysops sp. |url=https://www.psu.edu/dept/nkbiology/naturetrail/speciespages/deerfly.html |website=The Virtual Nature Trail at Penn State New Kensington |publisher=Penn State University |access-date=14 August 2018}}</ref> Females feed primarily on mammals. They are attracted to prey by sight, smell, or the carbon dioxide detection. Other attractants are body heat, movement, dark colours, and lights in the night. They are active under direct sunshine and hours when the temperature is above 22 °C (71.6°).<ref name="psu"/> When feeding, the females use scissor-like mandibles and maxillae to make a cross-shaped incision and then lap up the blood. Their bite can be painful. Anti-coagulants in the fly's saliva prevent blood from clotting and may cause severe allergic reactions. Parasites and diseases transmitted by the deer fly include tularemia, anthrax, anaplasmosis, equine infectious anemia, hog cholera, and filiariasis. DEET is not an effective repellent.<ref name="purdue"/>

Predators of the deer fly (and other Tabanidae) include nest-building wasps and hornets, dragonflies, and some birds, including the killdeer. Deer flies are difficult to control because insecticides cannot be applied in the sensitive wetlands where their larvae typically develop. Additionally, adults may have developed a significant distance from where the eggs were laid.<ref name="purdue"/> Trapping devices and protective clothing, such as long-sleeved shirts and hats, can help avoid the annoyance and bites of aggressive deer flies.

[[File:Golden Deer Fly - Silvius gigantulus, Bassetts, California.jpg| thumb|''Silvius gigantulus'']]

==Genera== These 33 genera belong to the subfamily Chrysopsinae:<ref name = Turcatel2014>{{cite thesis| type=PhD |title = A Molecular Phylogeny of Deer Flies and their Closest Relatives | first1 = Mauren| last1 = Turcatel | year = 2014| publisher = North Carolina State University}}</ref> {{Div col|colwidth=22em}} * ''Aegophagamyia'' Austen, 1912<ref name="Austen1912">{{cite journal |last1=Austen |first1=E.E. |title=New genera and species of Tabanidae in the British Museum (Natural History) |journal=Annals and Magazine of Natural History |date=1912 |volume=9 |issue=8 |pages=1–33 |doi=10.1080/00222931208693101 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/18638758#page/13/mode/1up |access-date=11 September 2022}}</ref> * ''Alocella'' Quentin, 1990<ref name="Quentin1990">{{cite journal |last1=Quentin |first1=R.M. |title=Le groupe des Orgizomyia de Madagascar (Diptera: Tabanidae: Chrysopsonae: Rhinomyzini) |journal=Annales de la Société Entomologique de France |date=1990 |volume=26 |issue=3 |pages=431–436|doi=10.1080/21686351.1990.12277838 }}</ref> * ''Betrequia'' Oldroyd, 1970<ref name="Oldroyd1970">{{cite journal |last1=Oldroyd |first1=H. |title=A new genus of Rhinomyzini (Diptera: Tabanidae), the first from South America |journal=Journal of Natural History |date=1970 |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=249–253|doi=10.1080/00222937000770241 |bibcode=1970JNatH...4..249O }}</ref> * ''Chrysops'' Meigen, 1803<ref name="Meigen1803">{{cite journal|last1=Meigen|first1=J. W.|title=Versuch einer neuen Gattungs-Eintheilung der europaischen zweiflugligen Insekten|journal=Mag. Insektenkd|date=1803|volume=2|pages=259–281}}</ref> * ''Eucompsa'' Enderlein, 1922<ref name="Enderlein1922"/> * ''Gastroxides'' Saunders, 1842<ref name="Saunders1842">{{cite journal |last1=Saunders |first1=W.W. |title=Descriptions of four new dipterous insects from Central and Northern India |journal=Transactions of the Entomological Society of London |date=1842 |volume=3(1)[1841] |pages=59–81 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/13709048#page/81/mode/1up |access-date=12 September 2022}}</ref> * ''Gressittia'' Philip & Mackerras, 1960<ref name="PhilipMackerras1960">{{cite journal |last1=Philip |first1=C.B. |last2=Mackerras |first2=I.M. |title=On Asiatic and related Chrysopinae (Diptera: Tabanidae). |journal=Philipp, J. Sci. |date=1960 |volume=88 (1959) |pages=279–324}}</ref> * ''Jashinea'' Oldroyd, 1970<ref name="Oldroyd1970"/> * ''Mackerrasia'' Travassos Dias, 1956<ref name="Dias1956">{{cite journal |last1=Dias |first1=J.A. T.S. |title=Um novo genero para a tribu Bouvieromyiini (Enderlein, 1922). |journal=Bolm Soc. Estud. Mocamb |date=1956 |volume=26 |issue=98 |pages=75–79}}</ref> * ''Melissomorpha'' Ricardo, 1906<ref name="Ricardo1906">{{cite journal |last1=Ricardo |first1=G. |title=[Description of a new fly of the family Tabanidae] |journal=Abstracts of the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London |date=1906 |volume=1906 |issue=6}}</ref> * ''Merycomyia'' Hine, 1912<ref name=Hine1912>{{cite journal|last1=Hine|first1=J. S|title=Five new species of North American Tabanidae|journal=The Ohio Naturalist|date=1912|url=https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/1757/V12N07_513.pdf?sequence=1|accessdate=4 December 2015|volume=12|pages=513–516|hdl=1811/1757 }}</ref> * ''Nemorius'' Rondani, 1856<ref name="Rondani1859">{{cite book |last1=Rondani |first1=Camillo |title=Dipterologiae Italicae Prodromus. Vol: I. Genera italica ordinis Dipterorum ordinatim disposita et distincta et in familias et stirpes aggregata |date=1856 |publisher=A. Stocchi |location=Parmae [= Parma]. |pages=226 + [2] |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/34067#page/9/mode/1up |access-date=17 October 2020}}</ref> * ''Neochrysops'' Walton, 1918<ref name="McAteeWalton1918">{{cite journal |last1=McAtee |first1=W.L. |last2=Walton |first2=W.R. |title=District of Columbia Diptera: Tabanidae |journal=Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington |date=1918 |volume=20 |pages=188–206, pl. 10 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/2591846#page/216/mode/1up |access-date=11 September 2022}}</ref> * ''Oldroydiella'' Travassos Dias, 1955<ref name="Dias1955">{{cite journal |last1=Dias |first1=J.A. T.S. |title=Denominacao e definica de um novo agrupamento generica para a subfamilia Pangoiinae Loew, 1860 (Diptera, Tabanidae) |journal=Mems. Estud. Mus. Zool. Univ. Coimbra |date=1955 |volume=237 |pages=1–3}}</ref> * ''Orgizocella'' Quentin, 1990<ref name="Quentin1990"/> * ''Orgizomyia'' Grünberg, 1906<ref name=Grunberg1906>{{cite journal|last1=Grunberg|first1=K.|title=Einige neue Tabaniden gattungen des athiopischen Faunen gebiets.|journal=Zool. Anz.|date=1906|volume=30|pages=349–362}}</ref> * ''Paulianomyia'' Oldroyd, 1957<ref name="Oldroyd1957a">{{cite book |last1=Oldroyd |first1=H. |title=The horse-flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) of the Ethiopian Region. III. Subfamilies Chrysopinae, Scepsidinae and Pangoniinae and a revised classification |date=1957 |publisher=British Museum (Natural History) |location=London |pages=xii + 489}}</ref> * ''Phibalomyia'' Taylor, 1920<ref name="Taylor1920">{{cite journal |last1=Taylor |first1=F.H. |title=Australian phlebotomic Diptera:--New Culicidae Tabanidae and synonomy |journal=Proc. R. Soc. Vic |date=1920 |volume=32 |pages=164–167}}</ref> * ''Pseudopangonia'' Ricardo, 1915<ref name="Ricardo1915">{{cite journal |last1=Ricardo |first1=G. |title=Notes on the Tabanidae of the Australian Region [part] |journal=Annals and Magazine of Natural History |date=1915 |volume=16 |issue=8 |pages=259–286|doi=10.1080/00222931508693714 }}</ref> * ''Pseudotabanus'' Ricardo, 1915<ref name="Ricardo1915"/> * ''Rhigioglossa'' Wiedemann, 1828<ref name="Wiedemann1828">{{cite book |last1=Wiedemann |first1=Christian Rudolph Wilhelm |title=Aussereuropäische zweiflügelige Insekten. Als Fortsetzung des Meigenschen Werks |date=1828 |publisher=Zweiter Theil. Schulz |location=Hamm |pages=xxxii + 608 pp., 7 pls }}</ref> * ''Rhinomyza'' Wiedemann, 1820<ref name="Wiedemann1820">{{cite book |last1=Wiedemann |first1=Christian Rudolph Wilhelm |title=Munus rectoris in Academia Christiano-Albertina iterum aditurus nova dipterorum genera. Offert iconibusque illustrat. |date=1820 |publisher=C. F. Mohr |location=Kiliae Holsatorum [= Kiel] |pages=23 pp. 1 pl}}</ref> * ''Seguytabanus'' Paulian, 1962 * ''Silviomyza'' Philip & Mackerras, 1960<ref name="PhilipMackerras1960"/> * ''Silvius'' Meigen, 1820<ref name="Meigen1820">{{cite book |last1=Meigen |first1=J.W. |title=Systematische Beschreibung der bekannten europäische n zweiflugeligen Insekten |date=1820 |publisher=Zweiter Theil. Forstmann |location=Aachen |pages=xxxvi + 363 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/45915#page/9/mode/1up |access-date=8 July 2022}}</ref> * ''Sphecodemyia'' Austen, 1937<ref name="Austen1937">{{cite journal |last1=Austen |first1=E.E. |title=New genera and species of Ethiopian Tabanidae, subfamily Pangoniinae (Diptera) |journal=Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London C |date=1937 |volume=107 |pages=31–34}}</ref> * ''Surcoufia'' Kröber, 1922 * ''Tabanocella'' Bigot, 1856 * ''Thaumastocera'' Grünberg, 1906<ref name=Grunberg1906/> * ''Thaumastomyia'' Philip & Mackerras, 1960<ref name="PhilipMackerras1960"/> * ''Thriambeutes'' Grünberg, 1906<ref name=Grunberg1906/> {{Div col end}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Further reading== {{refbegin}} * {{cite book |last1=Curran |first1=Charles Howard |title=The families and genera of North American Diptera |date=1934 |publisher=C.H. Curran |location=New York |pages=512 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/29874#page/9/mode/1up |access-date=11 September 2022 | doi = 10.5962/bhl.title.6825| doi-access = free}} * {{Cite journal | title = The horse and deer flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) of Texas | date = 1996 | last1 = Goodwin | first1 = J.T. | last2 = Drees | first2 = B.M. | journal = Southwestern Entomologist, Supplement | volume = 20 }} * {{Cite book | title = Manual of Nearctic Diptera | date = 1987 | last1 = McAlpine | first1 = J.F. | last2 = Petersen | first2 = B.V. | last3 = Shewell | first3 = G.E. | last4 = Teskey | first4 = H.J. | last5 = Vockeroth | first5 = J.R. | last6 = Wood | first6 = D.M. | display-authors = 4 | publisher = Agriculture Canada, Research Branch | isbn = 978-0660121253 }} * {{Cite journal | title = The horse flies and deer flies of Canada and Alaska (Diptera: Tabanidae) | date = 1990 | last1 = Teskey | first1 = H.J. | journal = The Insects and Arachnids of Canada | publisher = Agriculture Canada | volume = Part 16 | isbn = 978-0660132822 | issn = 0706-7313 }} {{refend}}

==External links== {{refbegin}} * {{Commons-inline}} {{refend}}

Category:Tabanidae Category:Brachycera subfamilies Category:Taxa named by Adolfo Lutz