Chrysops

Chrysops 

a genus of flies of the family Tabanidae, ranging from 1 to 2 cm in length and comprising about 200 species. In the USSR there are about 30 species, the overwhelming majority of which may be found in the forest zone, especially in Siberia. The larvae live mainly along the banks of bodies of water in moist sand or silt, where they feed on organic re-mains. The females suck the blood of large mammals, and the males feed on flower nectar. The species of Chrysops are vectors of microorganisms causing a number of diseases in man and domestic animals, including anthrax, tularemia, and infectious anemia in horses; the tropical species transmit certain parasitic worms, for example, the filariae.

REFERENCE

Vchebnik meditsinskoi entomologii, part 1. Edited by V. N. Beklemishev. Moscow, 1949.