Tabanus sudeticus

Tabanus sudeticus, also known as the dark giant horsefly, is a species of biting horse-fly.^[5][6] It is the heaviest fly in Europe.^[7]

Tabanus sudeticus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Family:	Tabanidae
Subfamily:	Tabaninae
Tribe:	Tabanini
Genus:	Tabanus
Species:	T. sudeticus
Binomial name
Tabanus sudeticus Zeller, 1842[1]
Synonyms
Tabanus verralli Oldroyd, 1939[2] Tabanus sudeticus f. confusus Goffe, 1931[3] Tabanus sudeticus f. distinctus Goffe, 1931[3] Tabanus sudeticus f. meridionalis Goffe, 1931[3] Tabanus sudeticus var. perplexus Verrall, 1909[4]

Description

The dark giant horsefly's length is around 20-25 millimeters.^[8] They have uniform dark brown eyes.^[8]

Dark giant horseflies are a common species to be found buzzing around cows and horses.^[8] They usually only suck blood from those horses and cows, avoiding humans.^[8] They fly with a very loud buzzing.^[8][9]

Distribution

Female T. sudeticus

Tabanus sudeticus is found in many countries of Western Europe. It has a marked northern and western distribution; being found as far north as southern Norway and the Western Isles of Scotland, and with an occasional record from Belarus.^[10]