Hybomitra aterrima

Hybomitra aterrima is a species of horse flies in the family Tabanidae.[4][5]

Hybomitra aterrima
Hybomitra aterrima var. auripila. Female
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Tabanidae
Subfamily: Tabaninae
Tribe: Tabanini
Genus: Hybomitra
Species:
H. aterrima
Binomial name
Hybomitra aterrima
(Meigen, 1820)[1]
Synonyms[2]
List

Distribution

This species can be found in most of Europe (Austria, Bosnia, Croatia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Spain and Switzerland).[6]

Description
Hybomitra aterrima. Dorsal view

Hybomitra aterrima can reach a length of 13–16 millimetres (0.51–0.63 in).[7]

The body is black and the wings are transparent, with a small dark patch at the base of the vein R4.[7][8]

Face is black haired, with high antennal bows. Palpi are blackish with black hairs. The compound eyes are well-developed in both sexes. They have an iridescent light green pigmentation, with three blue-reddish transversal bands.[7][8]

The Hybomitra aterrima var. auripila (Meigen) has the abdominal tergites more or less distinctly golden-yellow pubescent on posterior margins.[8]

Close-up on eyes

Biology

Males of these horse flies feed on plant juices, while female are bloodsuckers,[7] feeding mainly on mammalian blood, as they require a blood meal before they are able to reproduce. They may be very annoying for cattle, but usually they do not bite people.[7]

References
  1. Meigen, J.W. (1820). Systematische Beschreibung der bekannten europäische n zweiflugeligen Insekten. Aachen: Zweiter Theil. Forstmann. pp. xxxvi + 363. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
  2. Catalogue of life
  3. Jaennicke, J.F. (1866). "Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Tabaniden Europa's". Berlin. Ent. Zeitschr. 10: 65–91. Retrieved 17 October 2022.
  4. Chvála, Milan; Lyneborg, Leif; Moucha, Josef (1972). The Horse Flies of Europe (Diptera, Tabanidae). Copenhagen: Entomological Society of Copenhagen. pp. 598pp, 164figs. ISBN 978-09-00-84857-5.
  5. 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.
  6. Fauna europaea
  7. Insektenbox
  8. S. Krcmar et al.: Key to the horse flies fauna of Croatia (Diptera, Tabanidae)
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