Beautiful, Bloodsucking Pollinators

Horse flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) are some of the most commonly known and least understood of all flies. Most have heard their unnerving, booming flight and experienced their painful bite. However, tabanids are more than just annoying bloodsuckers; all horse flies also visit flowers. In fact, some are quite specialized for this with proboscis lengths more than 20mm long! This site is designed to provide information and links about horse flies. I also provide some keys for pollination biologists and others working with horse flies.