The orientation behaviour of horse flies and deer flies (Tabanidae, Diptera)

The Manitoba Fly Trap is illustrated and described and its uses in behaviour studies, surveys, insect control and perhaps population studies are enumerated. Its advantages over other traps for diurnal biting flies are discussed.

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Zusammenfassung Die Manitoba-Fliegenfalle wird abgebildet und beschrieben. Ihre Verwendungsmöglichkeiten bei der Verhaltensforschung, Sammlung und Bekämpfung von Insekten und vielleicht bei Massenwechselstudien werden aufgezählt und ihre Vorteile vor anderen Fallen für den Fang diurnaler Stechfliegen diskutiert.

     

Preliminary list of horse flies (Diptera, Tabanidae) of Serbia

Thirty six species of horse flies (Tabanidae) were previously known from Serbia (Europe). The present faunistic study of horse flies (Tabanidae) has resulted in the recording of the 4 new species Atylotus fulvus (Meigen, 1804); Tabanus miki Brauer in Brauer and Bergenstamm, 1880; Tabanus unifasciatus Loew, 1858; and Heptatoma pellucens (Fabricius, 1776), in the fauna of Serbia. The genus Heptatoma Meigen, 1803 is cited for the first time in the fauna of Serbia. 40 species are currently known from Serbia, belonging to nine genera. The fauna can be considered relatively poorly studied. Most of the species belong to the Boreal-Eurasian type of fauna 23, followed by the South European group with 8 species, the Mediterranean group with 6 species, European group with 2 species and Central European group with 1 species.     

Systematics and distribution of horse flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) of Jordan.

The horse fly fauna of Jordan consists of 24 species belonging to seven genera. The present study adds two new records; Tabanus unifasciatus and Tabanus lunatus. Keys and illustrations for the horse flies of Jordan are presented based on examined materials. Distribution and geographic ranges for each species is also given.     

Distribution of halophilous species of horse flies in Croatia (Diptera: Tabanidae)

In the past 20 years, fauna and ecology of horse flies (Tabanidae) were intensively studied in Croatia, especially in the Ramsar sites as wetlands of international importance. Different habitat requirements of larvae were recognised and adults of 78 species in 10 genera were recorded. The true aquatic and semiaquatic larvae are represented by several species of the genera Chrysops Meigen, 1803 Hybomitra Enderlein, 1922. Some species from this ecological group are typical inhabitants of saline biotopes. In the Croatian fauna three halophilous species were recorded: Chrysops italicus Meigen, 1804, Hybomitra acuminata (Loew, 1858) and H. expollicata (Pandellé, 1883). The distribution of these species in Croatia covers 7, 17 and 3 UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) grids, respectively. Specimens were primarily collected in habitats with brackish water along the Adriatic coast, such as Vransko Lake, the mouth of the River Cetina, the delta of the River Neretva and Mljet Island. Only specimens of H. acuminata were recorded in the continental part of Croatia. They were sporadically collected on localities along the Danube floodplain and on four localities near the river Drava. The distribution of H. acuminata in the continental part indicates otherwise rare saline habitats along the Drava and Danube rivers (1.38% of the total catch of the Hybomitra – species from the floodplain).     

Rearing immature horse flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) by using a substrate of bryophytes and sand

A new method for rearing immature horse flies by using a substrate of bryophytes and sand is described and the advantages of such substrate for maintenance of species with long development periods are discussed.     

Analysis of the feeding sites for some horse flies (Diptera, Tabanidae) on a human in Croatia

The landing patterns of horse flies on the human body were observed in Croatia. A total of 386 horse flies belonging to 22 species were sampled. The five most commonly collected species were used in the analysis. The stochastic linear connection is tight among the landings of the species Tabanus bromius, Tabanus maculicornis, Tabanus tergestinus, and Philipomyia graeca on the human body regions (matrix R). The preferred feeding area for these four species was the lower leg, whereas for the species Haematopota pluvialis it was the head and neck. Of the total number of horse flies that landed 44.81% were on the lower leg. Only 0.26% landed on the forearm. Chi-square analysis indicated non random landing patterns on human by these horse flies.     

Seasonal abundance of horse flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) from two locations in eastern Croatia.

A total of 10,539 tabanid horse flies from 22 species and five genera was collected in the Tikves forest within the Kopacki rit Nature Park in eastern Croatia. Seasonal abundance was analyzed for the six most abundant species. Tabanus maculicornis, Tabanus tergestinus, and Haematopota pluvialis reached their highest peak abundance in the fourth week of June. Atylotus loewianus and Tabanus bromius reached their highest peak of abundance in the first week of August, whereas Tabanus sudeticus reached its maximum abundance in the third week of July. Horse flies also were collected once a week on the pasture at Petrijevci from mid-May to mid-September during 1993. Paired collections were made from a Malaise trap and from a horse by using a sweep net. A total of 2,867 tabanids belonging to 26 species was collected. The number of tabanids collected on horses was much higher than the total captured with Malaise traps. On their natural host (horse), 2.6 times more tabanids were collected than in the traps. Seasonal abundance was analyzed only for the eight most abundant species. Chrysops paralellogrammus, Tabanus autumnalis, Tabanus bromius, Tabanus tergestinus, Haematopota pluvialis, and Haematopota subcylindrica all reached their highest peak of abundance in the second week of July, whereas Tabanus maculicornis reached the maximal peak of abundance in the third week of June. Seasonal meteorological variability that occurs periodically from one year to another has a significant influence on the maximal peaks of tabanid abundance.     

The orientation of horse flies and deer flies (Tabanidae, Diptera): I. The attractance of heat to Tabanids

Tabanid flies display an exceptionally strong tendency to orientate to and congregate in enclosures which accumulate heat during daylight. In order to study this behaviour to the best advantage and perhaps also to exploit it toward practical control a helio-thermal trap was designed and tested. This trap converts solar radiation to heat and is so designed that tabanids collect in a killing bottle. A number of ecological, ethological and practical applications of the trap are discussed in the light of data obtained to date.

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Résumé Plusieurs espèces de tabanides semblent être fortement attirées par une source de chaleur sensiblement plus élevée que celle de la temperature ambiante. Ces espèces se comportent ainsi surtout quand il fait très chaud alors qu'elles sont tout particulièrement actives. Nous avons profité de ce comportement pour construire un piège hélio-thermique ainsi appelé parce qu'il produit une chaleur tirée de l'énergie solaire.Les tabanides attirés par ce piège y pénètrent par la partie inférieure, et, apparemment attirés par phototaxis volent vers le sommet. Dans cet espace la temperature s'élève audessus de la limite tolérable et les tabanides sont abrutis par la chaleur. Alors ils tombent par un entonnoir dans un récipient contenant du cyanure. Les tabanides capturés sont exclusivement des femelles: fait de la plus haute importance dans l'emploi pratique de ce piège.Cependant ce piège a d'autres applications comme instrument de recherches entomologiques pour les taxonomistes, les oecologistes et les éthologues. Il est fort probable qu'un simple dispositif de moulinet actionné par le vent et créant un mouvement rotatoire augmenterait son attraction sur les tabanides et augmenterait sa valeur pratique aussi bien que sa valeur scientifique. Uu autre emploi important résulterait de son adaptation à l'étude des substances qui attirent ou repoussent ces insectes.

     

The orientation behaviour of horse flies and deer flies (Tabanidae: Diptera) IV. The influence of some physical modifications of visual decoys on orientation of horse flies

It was shown that the orientation of adult tabanids to visually attractive glossy black targets is little influenced by temperature and wind-actuated movement of the targets. The size of the targets was critical only for small targets provided that the black silhouette area was reduced without dappling or without striping by light-coloured areas.

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Die orientierung der bremsen (Tabanidae: diptera). IV. Der einfluss einiger physikalischer veränderungen der optischen ziele bei der orientierung der bremsen

Zusammenfassung Es wurde gezeigt, dass die Orientierung von Tabaniden-Imagines auf hoch attraktive, glänzende, schwarze Ziele durch die Temperatur und Bewegung der Ziele wenig beeinflusst wird. Die Grösse der Ziele war nur bei kleinen Ziel kritisch, vorausgesetzt dass die Fläche der schwarzen Silhouette nicht durch weiße Fleckung oder Streifung verkleinert wurde.

     

云南瘤虻属一新种（双翅目：虻科）

本文记述瘤忙属１新种－－药山瘤虻Ｈｙｂｏｍｉｔｒａ ｙａｏｓｈａｎｅｎｓｉｓ ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．,模式标本保存在北京军事医学科学院。     

Behaviour, physiological states and thermal characteristics of aggregating male Hybomitra illota (Diptera: Tabanidae)

Male Hybomitra illota (Osten Sacken) were found aggregating in clearings in wooded areas in Rondeau Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. At these sites they perched on a variety of substrates, and made frequent flights in pursuit of insects flying overhead. We know that these pursuit flights were part of the mating behaviour because some pursuits of female H. illota resulted in copulation. We call the aggregation sites 'mating arenas' and the behaviour exhibited by males 'perch-and-pursue'. Aggregation occurred only on sunny days, when ambient temperatures exceeded 18 degrees C. Males perched in sunny areas, except during hot afternoons, when some males were found in dappled shade. Some marked males remained at or returned to sites for up to 13 days, but most males did not remain at the same area within a site, even during the same day. The contents of the oesophageal diverticula of males were depleted daily. Concentration of diverticular carbohydrates changed through the season. Thoracic temperatures of males were high (c. 37 degrees C) and were regulated, probably both behaviourally and physiologically. The sites and behaviour of male H.illota at aggregation arenas bear some resemblance to lek sites and lekking in vertebrates. Males are aggregated in an arena but, within the perching component of the behaviour, we saw no evidence of male territoriality, display, or female choice. However, competition, display, or mate choice could occur within the pursuit-flight component.     

Seasonal surveillance of deer and horse flies (Diptera: Tabanidae), Gyeonggi province,Republic of Korea

Deer and horse flies, Family Tabanidae, are biological, mechanical, and potential vectors of approximately 27 viral, bacterial, and helminthic pathogens of veterinary and medical importance. Biting fly surveillance was conducted using New Jersey light traps and Mosquito Magnet® traps from May-October during 2015–2018 at eight sites (villages and US military installations and training areas) near/in the Demilitarized Zone and at a US military installation in southern Gyeonggi province, Republic of Korea.A total of 9985 deer and horse flies, comprising 4 genera and 17 species, were collected. The predominant species collected was Chrysops mlokosiewiczi (95.39%), followed by Chrysops suavis (1.48%) and Haematopota koryoensis (1.07%), while the remaining species accounted for only 2.06% of the specimens collected. A bimodal peak was observed for C. mlokosiewiczi in June and late-July, but not for the other two predominant species during the whole of the study period. This study provides and insight into ecological behavior and seasonal abundance of deer and horse flies in Gyeonggi province, Republic of Korea.     

An annotated checklist of the horse flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) of Lebanon with remarks on ecology and zoogeography: Pangoniinae and Chrysopsinae

Knowledge of the horse fly fauna (Diptera: Tabanidae) of Lebanon is fragmentary, while the local fauna of most neighboring countries has been fairly well researched. Within the framework of the 20-year project "The ecology and zoogeography of the Lepidoptera of the Near East," we regularly collected biting flies in the whole region, including Lebanon. During this time we recorded 14 horse fly species for two subfamilies in Lebanon: four Pangoniinae and ten Chrysopsinae. Only a single species, Chrysops flavipes Meigen, 1804, was known previously in Lebanon, but the following four Pangoniinae: Pangonius haustellatus (Fabricius, 1781), Pangonius obscuratus Loew, 1859, Pangonius argentatus (Szilady, 1923), and Pangonius fulvipes (Loew, 1859) and nine Chrysopsinae: Silvius appendiculatus Macquart, 1846, Silvius ochraceus Loew, 1858, Nemorius irritans (Ricardo, 1901), Nemorius vitripennis (Meigen, 1820), Chrysops buxtoniAusten, 1922, Chrysops compactusAusten, 1924, Chrysops caecutiens (Linnaeus, 1758), Chrysops italicus Meigen, 1804, and Chrysops hamatus Loew, 1858 are new records for the Lebanese fauna. The Tabanidae fauna of Lebanon is completely Palearctic and most species are of a Mediterranean distribution type. Lebanon or nearby northern Israel appears to be in the Levant, the southern geographical distribution border for the Pangoniinae and Chrysopsinae.     

Landscape and zonal distribution of bloodsucking mosquitoes and horseflies (Diptera: Culicidae,Tabanidae) in the northeastern Russian Plain

Analysis of landscape and zonal changes in the species diversity and abundance of 34 species of bloodsucking mosquitoes and 42 species of horseflies in the northeastern Russian Plain was carried out. The species diversity of both families is reduced from south to north. Two steps of faunistic depletion can be revealed: at the boundary of the middle and northern taiga (both mosquitoes and horseflies) and at the boundary of the extreme northern taiga and the forest-tundra (horseflies only). Species whose northern and southern distribution boundaries lie within the territory studied are listed.     

Evolution of host use in fruit flies of the genus Blepharoneura (Diptera: Tephritidae): cryptic species on sexually dimorphic host plants

Blepharoneura , a neotropical genus of tephritid fruit flies, includes newly discovered morphologically cryptic species that are highly host specific. Several species of fly, each specific to a different host tissue can infest a single species of sexually dimorphic host. Using allozyme electrophoresis, we analysed morphologically similar populations of flies reared from various tissues of five species of host plant representing three subtribes of the Cucurbitaceae. In Venezuela, we found three sympatric species of Blepharoneura feeding on Gurania spinulosa Cogn. (one species on male flowers, another on female flowers, and a third on seeds). In Costa Rica, we found four non-interbreeding populations of Blepharoneura feeding on G. costaricensis Cogn. : two sympatric 'lowland' populations (one feeding on male flowers and another on female flowers) and two sympatric 'highland' populations (also specific to flowers of different sexes). Phylogenetic analyses revealed a species-rich clade of specialists associated with flowers of the Guraniinae, and a species-poor clade of generalists associated with seeds of the Guraniinae. Specialization on male vs. female flowers appears to have occurred repeatedly. Patterns of laryal dispersal may underlie differehces in diversification of seed vs. flower clades: larvae that feed on seeds are dispersed by bats; larvae feeding on flowers are not dispersed.     

Investigation of the sensory organs on antennae of the horseflies Hybomitra bimaculata and Tabanus bovinus (Diptera: Tabanidae) by scanning electron microscope

Sensory organs on the antennae of the horseflies Hybomitra bimaculata Macq. and Tabanus bovinus Loew are represented by the same morphological types of sensilla. Never differences in the topographical distribution of the sensilla on antennae have been also found, which can be explained by the similarity of ecological and behavioural adaptations of these insects. First and second antennal segments are found to be supplied with tactile hairs and proprioceptors. Other antennal segments bear sensory organs of several morphological types. Short thin olfactory hairs are most numerous among them. They are present on all segments of the antennal flagellum and belong to two morphological types different by the hair length. In the upper parts of the antennal segments from third to seventh several sensilla trichoidea are present, which probably serve as tactile and taste receptors.