What is the difference between a horsefly and a gadfly, or is it the same insect? The value of flies, horseflies, gadflies for humans and pets: Medical blog of an ambulance doctor

Horsefly, being a blood-sucking insect, in warm time year causes inconvenience to both animals and people. Many are familiar with its obsessive buzzing and painful bites. In hot weather, far from cities, horseflies make real attacks, interfering with comfortable outdoor recreation or work on personal plot. They also annoy livestock. What is this insect and why does it attack?

Description of the insect

According to the biological classification, the horsefly is an insect from the order of Diptera and the suborder of short-whiskers (lat. Tabanidae). This is a whole family, whose representatives throughout the globe There are approximately 4400 species classified into 200 genera. On the territory of the CIS, 200 species have been recorded.

Horseflies attract attention, first of all, as one of the components of midges, because pregnant females need to eat blood. Substances released during a bite cause a negative reaction of the body: allergies, inflammation, irritation.

Gnus is a species of insects from the Diptera order that suck blood from mammals. In addition to the horsefly, ordinary mosquitoes, the exotic tsetse fly, etc.

The body of the horsefly is very compact. The length of individuals depends on the species: from 0.6 cm in Haematopota koryoensis to 3 cm, as in Tabanus chrysurus. These large horseflies have received the popular nickname "Black Flying Horse" in the West for their impressive dimensions. The body is gently flattened in the belly area. The flying ability of the insect is provided by 2 wide wings.

In the photo - horsefly Tabanus chrysurus, the most big representative of his family

The body of the horsefly is protected by a thin covering of chitin. Its layer is thicker on the chest and head. The degree of pubescence of an insect depends on its species. Biologists have identified a pattern according to which the inhabitants of the steppes and deserts have shorter villi than those living in the mountains. The color of horseflies does not attract attention: it is dominated by muted shades of gray, brown, yellow color, so horsefly merges with the environment.

The thoracic region is wide and massive. Its surface is covered with microscopic villi of small thickness, closely seated to each other, due to which a dense pubescence is formed. Wide wings are attached to the middle part of the horsefly's chest. In some specimens, they are completely transparent, while in others they are painted with veins that create a mesh pattern, or decorated with light gray spots. The rear pair of wings is a vestige today. It is transformed into special halteres, shaped like round-headed pins, designed for sewing.

Thanks to the halteres, the fly balances during the flight and emits a characteristic sound that inevitably accompanies its appearance.

Horseflies have a fairly large proboscis of an armed type, hiding sharp stilettos inside. The oral apparatus is equipped with palps, antennae, mandibles; and its structure allows both to eat plant foods and to drink the blood of large animals.

Is the name of the insect justified?

To people who are not previously interested in the features of the life of this insect, it may seem that it is blind or in best case does not have very good eyesight. In fact, everything is completely different: these blood-sucking flies see perfectly.

The horsefly's eyes are faceted, rather large in size, located on the sides of the head. Insects have color vision. It is difficult to distinguish small parts the surrounding world, but instantly react to the flickering of light rays. The surface of the horsefly's eyes shimmers with different colors of the rainbow; sometimes covered with small but dense villi.

Some members of the family have 3 additional eyes, which have a simple structure and are located on special tubercles in the region of the crown. Others have only elevations, but there are no organs of vision on them. The rest of the horseflies do not even have tubercles.

If you carefully examine the eye area, you can determine the sex of the individual. A sign of the female is the presence of a vertical stripe on the forehead, separating large compound eyes. Males do not have this feature. But their abdomen is pointed towards the end, which makes it easier to distinguish horseflies by sex.

Common types

Although the species diversity of the subfamily is large, in temperate climate more common types of horseflies, such as:

bull horsefly lives throughout Europe. It is large in size, because it reaches a length of 2.5 cm. When flying, it emits a loud buzz. The chest of the bull gadfly is decorated with dark stripes and yellow hair, while the body of the insect is a dirty brown color. Representatives of this species are found even at an altitude of 2 km above sea level.
Horsefly lacewing, which is also called motley, does not exceed 1.5 cm in length. It differs from its relatives in bright, almost contrasting colors: a black chest in combination with yellow blotches on the abdomen. But the real wealth of the insect is its attractive eyes, painted in shades of emerald and gold, effectively shimmering in the sun.
Horsefly raincoat looks more ordinary: its faded color cannot be called elegant. But the insect has a significant difference from its counterparts: its activity increases in cloudy weather, while the rest of the horseflies prefer sunny days.

These are the three most popular varieties of horseflies that can be encountered on the territory of the CIS countries.

Horsefly life

Where do horseflies live? They live on all continents of the world with the exception of Antarctica. They cannot be found on some remote islands separated from the mainland: Iceland and Greenland. The largest number of horseflies (and, interestingly, also in terms of species diversity) are found in wetlands, on the borders different zones, close to pastures and livestock pens. Also, the number of insects increases as you approach settlements.

These blood-sucking flies feel good in light forests, fields, steppes, as well as in deserts and on mountain slopes. Horseflies crowd to water bodies where there is the necessary moisture. The larvae of most species develop in water. adults most they spend their lives in flight, being well guided by the terrain. They love sunny and hot weather, so they are most active in daytime summer days.

Nutrition

The horsefly diet depends on the phase of its development and sex. Insect larvae consume invertebrates living in water bodies or soil. The food of adult specimens, called adults, varies: males feed only on plant products (flower nectar, plant sap) or “milk” from aphids, and fertilized females are literally bloodthirsty. For its vital activity, the blood of animals is needed - up to 200 mg at one "reception". While the female does not expect offspring, she can exist on plant foods.

Females can feed on carrion: the corpses of animals that died 1-3 days ago. Because of this, insects become carriers of infectious diseases.

Horseflies are not averse to tasting human blood. This makes them attack people. Therefore, everyone who, in the midst of summer in sunny weather, was in nature near a reservoir, probably remembers how a horsefly bites.

reproduction

Caring for procreation and breeding of offspring in blood-sucking flies begins in the warm season. The exact period depends on the climate of the area and the particular type of insect. The way horseflies reproduce is identical to the type of reproduction in dipterous insects. Under favorable circumstances, individuals of different sexes mate, and after a while they lay eggs. Pregnant female horseflies need to feed on the blood of warm-blooded animals.

The development of horsefly takes place in 4 stages:

Eggs. One female can lay from 400 to 1000 pieces. The eggs are elongated.
Larvae. They are spindle-shaped and have no limbs.
Pupa. Looks like a butterfly chrysalis.
Imago is an adult insect. How long horseflies live depends on the species. But their age cannot be called long: it usually lasts one summer.

The total duration of horsefly from the moment of laying eggs to the death of adults is up to 4 years.

Is horsefly harmful to humans?

Horsefly often bites people. Insect saliva causes a painful reaction on the skin. Some suffer from an allergy to the bites of blood-sucking flies, and then the affected area swells badly. Together with saliva, they enter the wound toxic substances, which cause pain and swelling, and anticoagulants that prevent blood clotting. Horseflies are especially dangerous as carriers of infectious diseases. Therefore, if the temperature rises after the attack, you should seek medical help.

Knowing what a horsefly looks like, you can distinguish it from other insects. It is difficult to avoid meeting with him on summer days with clear weather. During the period of gestation by female flies, they are extremely aggressive and often attack people. To repel horseflies, insecticides are used in the form of a spray or aerosol, and special traps are also built in the areas.

Horseflies are known around the world as pesky bloodsucking insects. The need for blood is felt only by fertilized female horseflies, which without it cannot begin to lay eggs.

   Class - Insects
   Row - Diptera
   Family - Tabanidae

Basic data:
DIMENSIONS
Length: 0.8-3 cm (depending on the type).
Body: compact, head and iridescent eyes - large.
Mouth apparatus: prickly-sucking.

BREEDING
Mating period: depends on the type; in Central Europe - in the summer.
Number of testicles: 100-1 000.
Incubation period: eggs - 1-3 weeks; the time of development of the larva depends on the area.

LIFESTYLE
Habits: fly silently.
Food: males - nectar and pollen; females - blood; larvae are herbivores or carnivores, depending on the species.
Lifespan: 3 to 6 weeks.

RELATED SPECIES
The horsefly family includes 3,500 species. The most common are raincoats, lacewings and horseflies themselves.

The horsefly family consists of many species, representatives of this family can be observed all over the world. Horseflies have a short compact body and a massive head with large bulging eyes, iridescent green, red and purple flowers that form spots and stripes.

FOOD

   All horseflies support their livelihoods by consuming food in liquid state- this is nectar, vegetable juices or animal blood. Nectar and vegetable juices provide food for horseflies of both sexes. Interestingly, some species of horseflies have very long proboscises. So, for example, the proboscis of the Indian horsefly is even twice longer than the body! Horsefly males feed on nectar, sugary secretions of aphids and worms.
   Females of some species of horseflies, like males, feed on plant sap, but for the development of fertilized testicles, females need substances that are present in the blood of mammals. Nevertheless, people mistakenly believe that all horseflies are harmful bloodsuckers.
   The need for protein-rich blood of a mammal in a female horsefly occurs immediately after fertilization, since the yolk vital for the embryos is formed with the protein in her body. As a victim, female horseflies choose, as a rule, large mammals: cattle, deer, horses, less often human. Certain species of horseflies even feed on the blood of crocodiles and turtles.
   The bites of female horseflies are quite painful because these insects have very thick proboscises, and the bite wound is sensitive. By the way, depending on the size, the female sucks from twenty to two hundred milligrams of blood from the wound. So that the wound does not heal, the female horsefly injects saliva into it, which prevents blood from clotting.
   Male horseflies of all kinds feed exclusively on natural juices.

CYCLE OF DEVELOPMENT

   Horseflies got their name because, while sucking blood, they do not hear or see anything - at this time you can even take it with your hands.
   Adult horseflies do not live long, but it is almost impossible not to notice them. Full life cycle horsefly consists of several stages and is quite long.
   Female horseflies lay bags, which usually contain 100-1,000 eggs, on the wet surface of leaves or parts of aquatic plants protruding above the surface of the water, in wet soil or in rotten wood. The long white eggs darken over time. A few weeks later, larvae emerge from the eggs. Puffball larvae live in water, and bullfly larvae live in soil at a depth of up to ten centimeters. The larvae have everything they need to survive, so the larval stage lasts quite a long time.
   The development time of the larvae depends on many factors: temperature, humidity and food availability. With a poor diet, the larva begins to spin a cocoon later. Horsefly larvae starve for several months and so survive the winter. In arid regions, the larvae escape from drying out by burrowing into the silt. After some time, the larvae prepare to turn into adult insects. Having chosen a dry corner, the larva spins a cocoon in it. The pupal stage lasts from one to three weeks. After leaving the cocoon, the insect spreads and dries its wings, and after three hours it can already make its first flight.
   Males are the first to emerge from the cocoons. Later, when the females have hatched, the males gather in a swarm and fly over the water, feeding on wet lye and tree crowns.
   Females join the swarm and mate with males. Then the fertilized females fly in search of a victim in order to get enough of her blood, which they desperately need. After a few days, the females begin to lay eggs.

GADDLE AND PEOPLE

Horseflies are very common blood-sucking insects in the world. In large numbers, they can lead to the cessation of field work in the daytime. This situation is developing in some regions of Russia, where people are sometimes forced to work in the fields at night to avoid being bitten by these annoying insects. The bite site of a horsefly swells and itches for a long time. Unlike the wound that remains after a mosquito bite, the wound that occurs after a horsefly attack is quite deep. Horseflies transmit infectious diseases such as tularemia.

OBSERVATION OF GADDID

Some representatives of the horsefly family can be considered the largest dipterous insects living in Central Europe. In summer, horseflies can be observed in many places - in a field, in a meadow, in a forest glade, along roads and near water bodies. Females are especially aggressive before the onset of a thunderstorm. Most species of horseflies approach their prey silently, but some species, such as the common raincoat, announce themselves with a deaf low buzz. Bull horsefly also emits a loud buzz when flying.

DO YOU KNOW WHAT...

Horsefly is the largest two-winged creature in Central Europe, up to 2.5 cm long.
Female horseflies that fly in search of prey primarily react to large moving objects, so they can attack not only livestock on pastures, but also a car that travels at speeds up to 40 km/h.
Horsefly females can sting people who are sailing in a boat at a distance of several hundred meters from the shore.
Horsefly bites are painful, because the proboscis of these insects not only penetrate the skin, but also touch the nerve endings. The saliva that the insect injects into the wound causes severe itching.
Horseflies attack small mammals, monitor lizards. They do not disdain the corpses of animals in the first 2-3 days after their death.

CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF GADFID

   Body: compact, short, slightly thickened, streamlined. On the head are short antennae. Some species, in particular the bull gadfly, reaches a length of 20 mm.
   Male: the male horsefly feeds on nectar and pollen from plants. Some species specialize in rotten plants.
   Females: the golden eyes of the female horsefly, shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow, do not connect with each other. The female with the help of a proboscis easily pierces the skin of the animal and sucks its blood. One female at a time is able to take up to 200 mg of blood - as much as 70 mosquitoes.

PLACES OF ACCOMMODATION
Horseflies are common everywhere, with the exception of deserts. A large number of species are concentrated in tropical regions of the world.
PRESERVATION
Horseflies inhabit almost all types of biotopes and everywhere they annoy animals and humans. In some places, their numbers are kept within certain limits due to drought and a small number of animals.

Type: Arthropoda von Siebold et Stannius, 1845 = Arthropoda

Horseflies and gadflies

Horseflies are large flies (up to 2-3 centimeters). How painful they bite and how annoying on a hot summer day, own experience everyone knows. Livestock, wild animals - moose, deer, even rodents, birds and large lizards- everyone suffers from horsefly bites. Only females suck blood (and as many as seventy mosquitoes at a time!). Horseflies-males feed on the nectar of flowers, the sweet sap of trees, "honeydew", exuded in abundance by aphids.

After a few days, the sucking female lays eggs. Later, it attacks the unfortunate animals again, then a new egg-laying follows - up to five times.

Horseflies usually attach their eggs to plants near and above water. The larvae live in water or in damp places on land. They do not have legs, they are replaced by thickenings and tubercles on the body. Resting against them, the larvae crawl rather quickly. Predators. They attack insect larvae, crustaceans, earthworms.

In the Central and South America lives a green yellow-legged fly, a gadfly dermatobia. locals its larvae are called mosquito worms. Where there are many mosquitoes, these flies also hover. How do they manage to do the following: on the fly, quickly approach and then, lightly touching the mosquito with their belly, glue their eggs?

After six days, larvae will develop in them, which do not crawl out of the egg shells until the mosquito sits on some warm-blooded animal to drink blood. As soon as this happens, the larvae of the gadfly immediately move to the skin of the beast (or man). They penetrate into it and grow: a very painful nodule is formed under the skin up to two or more centimeters in diameter. There is a fistula in the nodule, through which the air necessary for breathing enters the larva. Through the same fistula, the mature larva crawls out and falls to the ground, where it pupates, then turning into an adult gadfly, which, if it is a female, immediately goes in search of first males of its own species, and then mosquitoes.

Gadfly-hook

The female gastric hook gadfly lays her eggs on the skin of donkeys and horses, precisely in places that these equids most often scratch with their teeth, for example, on the inside of the front legs. Once in the mouth of a horse, the gadfly larvae live and develop in the tissues of its tongue for about a month. Then they are introduced into the mucous membrane of the mouth, along it they get to the pharynx and stomach, in which tens and hundreds of larvae often live. Ready for pupation, they go outside along with the droppings and complete the transformation on the ground.

Sheep and horse subcutaneous gadflies larvae are also sprayed into the eyes, not only of animals, but also of humans. Then the mucous membrane of the eye becomes inflamed, and the person becomes ill with conjunctivitis.

A more dangerous disease is eliminated from people by the larvae of subcutaneous gadflies with their penetration into the head and eyes. Surgery is needed to get them out.

Copied from the site: http://invertebrates.geoman.ru.

Horseflies belong to the order of Diptera, the suborder of short-whiskers. On the this moment species of horseflies in the world fauna reach 4400, they are united in 200 genera. The territory of the CIS countries is inhabited by about 200 species of these insects. Fossil horseflies appeared approximately 3.9–23.03 million years ago.

Tips from Gardex

The abundance of horseflies is observed in the heat. Don't forget to take insect repellant for outdoor activities in July.

A measure of personal protection against horseflies is clothing that covers most of the body and a hat with a net on the head.

Treat open areas of the body with a repellent from the Gardex Extreme line.

External features

The horsefly, or gadfly, is a large fly with a fleshy proboscis, inside of which there are sharp and hard cutting and stabbing stilettos. Among external features you can highlight the antennae sticking forward and huge eyes with stripes and spots of iridescent colors. By these features, one can distinguish a small gadfly from an ordinary fly. Females of most varieties of horseflies drink the blood of birds and mammals, while males feed on flower nectars, therefore they are not dangerous at all.

Features of reproduction and habitat

Blind like the others Diptera, have 4 phases of development: egg, larva, pupa, adult. Females lay their eggs along the banks of lakes and rivers in huge groups, up to 1000 pieces in each. They also constantly drink water so as not to die from the heat, because horseflies are most active during the day in warm sunny weather.

It is because of the characteristics of reproduction and habitat that adult horseflies are found in large numbers near water bodies and in wetlands. The presence of a person or livestock affects the increase in the number of horseflies, so the areas of concentration of these insects become places where people gather or livestock graze.

horsefly bite

The need for protection

Horseflies can be carriers of dangerous diseases: anthrax, tularemia, trypanosomiasis, filariasis. In addition, gadflies can cause diseases of a large cattle, horses and camels.

To protect against horseflies, combine mechanical and repellent products. Clothing made of dense fabrics belongs to mechanical ones, specialized means for protection against gadflies presented, for example, in the Gardex Extreme line: an aerosol repellent from mosquitoes, midges and horseflies, as well as an aerosol from all flying blood-sucking insects and ticks.

When we are talking about horseflies, many mistakenly believe that information may relate to and. All of them belong to flies, but they have many differences in the methods of reproduction, as well as other features of life. Horseflies and gadflies cause a lot of inconvenience not only to humans, but also to many pets. Therefore, knowledge of the enemy will allow you to quickly find ways to get rid of annoying bloodsuckers.

Features of life

It is impractical to look for differences between the gadfly, the horsefly and the cobweb.

On a note!
The gadfly and the cobweb are the same insect. The more common name of the biting fly sounds exactly like a gadfly, and the paut is just a regional name for an insect that was assigned to it in certain areas of the country. Therefore, in order to protect oneself, a person should be able to recognize only a gadfly and a horsefly, the differences of which must be sought in appearance.

The photo of the gadfly and horsefly clearly shows that the latter are larger flies, which are equipped with two pairs of wings and large bright eyes that occupy most of the body. Gadflies are much smaller and less colorful. just one pair of wings and more yellow on the body. The photo of the difference between the blind and the gadfly clearly demonstrates the external differences.

Also gadflies and horseflies feed different ways. Horsefly males lead a herbivorous lifestyle and prefer to eat only plant juices and nectar. The females do the same. After the female is ready to mate, she becomes very aggressive and switches to predatory image life.

Interesting!
Horseflies can also feed on the corpses of animals. Such food is attractive to them only for a few days after the death of the victim.

Adult gadflies generally feed on it. This explains their short life cycle. Nutrition and accumulation of nutrients occurs at the larval stage. When the gadfly has wings and the ability to mate, they begin to actively lay eggs and mate.

habitats

Separate attention should be paid to the question of where gadflies and horseflies live. The vital activity of horseflies is directly related to the availability of fluid. That is why insects prefer to settle near water bodies or any artificial water sources. Drinkers of animals can also act as them, especially if they rarely change the water. The higher the temperature and drier outside, the more and more often they will need to quench their thirst.

Experienced farmers know very well where gadflies and horseflies come from. After all, insects cannot exist separately from humans and domestic animals. Especially, given the fact that cattle themselves become the object of breeding pests. Horseflies, which prefer to settle near rivers at the larval stage, after reaching sexual maturity, are sure to look for places of mass grazing in order to have enough food.

On a note!
Gadflies cannot exist without mammals, therefore they also prefer to live in grazing areas. This allows the pest to lay larvae and multiply. Females are the first to find pastures, after them males flock to this place.

Differences in reproduction

by the most bright meaning, according to which it is possible to answer how the gadfly differs from the horsefly, is the peculiarity of their reproduction. Gadflies prefer to lay their eggs in the body of a mammal, less often a human.

Different species of these bloodsuckers find different ways of introducing larvae into the host organism. There are such ways:

The female lays her eggs on grass, which the animal consumes as food.
Viviparous gadflies. The female immediately lays the larva on the part of the body that the animal most often scratches and licks. Further development individuals occurs in the stomach of the host.
Injection under the skin. The most popular breeding method. The female gadfly chooses a place on the body of the cattle so that he cannot reach it and lays her eggs under the skin.

Interesting!
Most often, horseflies attack horses, gadflies attack cattle.

The main difference in how gadflies and gadflies breed is the place where eggs are laid. Horseflies do not introduce their larvae under the skin or inside humans and animals. They make clutches in grass or soil. The female horsefly chooses dark areas near water bodies and rivers as a place for laying.

Among the similarities, identical stages of development of individuals can be noted:

Egg.
Larva.
Pupa.
An adult.

When considering the question of how long gadflies and horseflies live, it is necessary to start from their stage of development.

The gadfly spends most of its life in the larval stage. The full life cycle is 28 days. to full release adult a year passes.
Horseflies live a little longer. The adult is limited warm period years, as long as there is free access to food. At less mature stages of development, horseflies live for several years until fully mature.

What is the danger

Horseflies and gadflies cause a lot of inconvenience to both humans and animals. It is very difficult to determine which of them is more dangerous. The danger of horseflies increases due to the fact that they prefer to actively use the blood of the victim. It serves not only as a source of nutrition, but also as an integral part of the reproduction process. For 1 time, a horsefly is able to drink up to 200 ml of blood from the body of its victim. Mass attack insects on cattle herds can reduce the number of milk yields by a quarter. Farmers suffer considerable losses from this, therefore they prefer horseflies, do not skimp and allocate part of the funds specifically for the prevention of their appearance, acquiring.

The danger among the entire subfamily of gadflies is represented by only 2 species that are common in our country. They do not drink blood, but even without this they pose a serious danger to humans and animals.

Harm to a living organism is caused by which an adult female implants under the skin of animals or humans. As a result of the development of larvae inside the body of the host, he has a deterioration in health, discomfort, weakness, and many other unpleasant consequences. In the most severe cases, the larvae can enter a person's eye or head. In this case, only complex operation, which will not be able to guarantee the return of full health. For preventive purposes, it is recommended to use.

Thus, the difference between a gadfly and a horsefly is colossal. These are completely different insects that differ in reproduction, nutrition and appearance. But unites these big families similarity - they all bring a lot of inconvenience and trouble to a person and his household.

The ability to distinguish a gadfly from a horsefly should help not only to pick up effective method dealing with them, but also to know what danger they pose in order to properly defend themselves.