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 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 itch, like those of mosquitoes, but are more painful, since greenheads feed by cutting a wound in the skin with scissor-like mouth parts and sucking the blood released through it.[10][11] Females live for three to four weeks and may lay about 100 to 200 eggs per blood meal.[12] 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][13] The adult flies emerge in late spring and are most common from late June to August.[9][13][11]
| Tabanus nigrovittatus | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific 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 | |
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
edit- ^ Macquart, P.J.M. (1847). Diptères exotiques nouveaux ou peu connus. 2.e supplement. Paris: Roret. pp. 104 pp, 6 pls.
- ^ Marten, J. (1883). "New Tabanidae". The Canadian Entomologist. 15: 110–112. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Szilády, Z. (1926). "New and Old World horseflies". Biologica Hung. 1 (7): 1–30, 1 pl.
- ^ Philip, C.B. (1957). "New records of Tabanidae (Diptera) in the Antilles" (PDF). American Museum Novitates. 1858: 16. Retrieved 14 October 2022.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Burger, J. F. (1995). "Catalog of Tabanidae (Diptera) in North America north of Mexico". International Contributions on Entomology. 1 (1). Associated Publishers: 1–100.
- ^ a b c d e Hansens, Elton; Race, Stuart. "The Greenhead and You". Rutgers Equine Science Center. Rutgers. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ^ a b Graves, Annie. "Greenhead Flies | What are Greenheads?". Yankee Magazine. New England Network. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Stubbs, A. & Drake, M. (2001). British Soldierflies and their Allies.
- ^ a b "Greenhead Biology". Cape Cod Mosquito Control Project. Archived from the original on 2021-08-04.
- ^ Forman, Ethan (2022-04-13). "Gloucester takes aim at greenheads". Gloucester Daily Times. Archived from the original on 2022-05-07.
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