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 Unusual tabanid fly from PANAMA! :o - Chlorotabanus cf. mexicanus
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 01-05-2008 21:56
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 Member Location: Viseu - PORTUGAL Posts: 9296 Joined: 05.06.06 |
It is a tabanid.  It was taken by my friend Art in Panama today. Is it possible to know the genus at least? 
Edited by jorgemotalmeida on 01-05-2008 22:56 |
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| Keith Bayless |
Posted on 01-05-2008 22:46
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Member Location: USA: North Carolina State University Posts: 49 Joined: 29.02.08 |
male Chlorotabanus sp., probably C. mexicanus. These are beautiful flies, no?
Edited by Keith Bayless on 01-05-2008 22:54 |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 01-05-2008 22:55
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Member Location: Viseu - PORTUGAL Posts: 9296 Joined: 05.06.06 |
thanks! if it is possible to know the species it would be great.  |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 01-05-2008 22:55
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Member Location: Viseu - PORTUGAL Posts: 9296 Joined: 05.06.06 |
all flies are beautiful... almost... some hippoboscid..   |
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| conopid |
Posted on 02-05-2008 20:12
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 Member Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1039 Joined: 02.07.04 |
Amazing Tabanid. A Ghost Tabanid!
Nigel Jones, Shrewsbury, United Kingdom |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 02-05-2008 20:16
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Member Location: Viseu - PORTUGAL Posts: 9296 Joined: 05.06.06 |
it lacks to pass through the leaves. |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 02-05-2008 21:00
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 Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 664 Joined: 08.02.07 |
There is an almost identical species from the SE USA - C. crepuscularis. Generally regarded as uncommon. But as it flies at night the females are rarely seen. However, baiting a Malaise Trap with dry ice (CO2) will bring in hundreds of females during the night at the correct season. |
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| Zeegers |
Posted on 03-05-2008 07:40
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Member Location: Soest, NL Posts: 18948 Joined: 21.07.04 |
It is indeed a male of Chlorotabanus. The species is difficult to see. There seems to be dark dots around the crossveins, which would imply Ch. mexicanus. Ch.mexicanus is rather common in Central America. It is nocturnal, that is why it don't care about colours. Theo |
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| Susan R Walter |
Posted on 03-05-2008 11:07
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 Member Location: Touraine du Sud, central France Posts: 1802 Joined: 14.01.06 |
Tony - why is the CO2 an attraction? I thought flies avoided CO2 (eg they react to being breathed on in the field by flying away - presumably because they think they are going to be eaten or squashed by a mammal). Do female Tabanids equate CO2 with potential blood meals though?
Susan |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 03-05-2008 13:09
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 664 Joined: 08.02.07 |
Susan R Walter wrote: Tony - why is the CO2 an attraction? Do female Tabanids equate CO2 with potential blood meals though? Why? - most likely because it leads to a food source. All blood-sucking flies are highly attracted to CO2; 'you may run but you cannot hide' except if you stop breathing - permanently. If you can get a chunk of dry ice and take it into a marshy area on a warm day you should bring in 100's of tabanids. Locally it's not unusual to get several thousand tabanids/day using a CO2-baited trap in a sphagnum bog. Thanks for thre det. of Muscina (my ?Phaonia). |
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| Susan R Walter |
Posted on 03-05-2008 16:34
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Member Location: Touraine du Sud, central France Posts: 1802 Joined: 14.01.06 |
Several thousand Cripes! (as our new London mayor is prone to saying)
Susan |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 03-05-2008 18:09
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 664 Joined: 08.02.07 |
Susan R Walter wrote: Several thousand Cripes! (as our new London mayor is prone to saying)Really, in some locales tabanids are numerous. When I am hand-netting and using my vehicle as bait (they love SUV's) it's a constant catch-put in vial, catch-put in vial, ad infinitum ................. Steve got 55,515 in one season; obviously in a poor habitat SEE HERE |
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| Susan R Walter |
Posted on 03-05-2008 20:48
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Member Location: Touraine du Sud, central France Posts: 1802 Joined: 14.01.06 |
And you can use aged horse urine if no dry ice available I see - can life get any better I wonder 
Susan |
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| Zeegers |
Posted on 03-05-2008 20:52
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Member Location: Soest, NL Posts: 18948 Joined: 21.07.04 |
With the CO2 detection the horsefly knows the host is alive. You don't want to suck blood from a corpse, it gets you killed. Theo |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 03-05-2008 20:56
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Member Location: Viseu - PORTUGAL Posts: 9296 Joined: 05.06.06 |
to attract tabanids it is enough to put the motor of the car working... I know a place here in the North that is a paradise for tabanids. I will go there soon. |
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| Susan R Walter |
Posted on 03-05-2008 21:13
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Member Location: Touraine du Sud, central France Posts: 1802 Joined: 14.01.06 |
You don't want to suck blood from a corpse, it gets you killed. Why? Because the corpse might have been poisoned perhaps? Susan |
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| Tony T |
Posted on 03-05-2008 22:52
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Member Location: New Brunswick, Canada Posts: 664 Joined: 08.02.07 |
jorgemotalmeida wrote: to attract tabanids it is enough to put the motor of the car working... You are more likely to kill yourself than to attract tabanids  Engines give off Carbon Monoxide - a mammal killer. Tabanids respond to Carbon Dioxide - also fatal in high doses. One source for CO2 is ice cream vendors, some use it to keep the ice cream frozen; especially those venors who have ice cream carts. Do they still exist in Europe - they did when I was a kid. |
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| jorgemotalmeida |
Posted on 03-05-2008 23:01
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Member Location: Viseu - PORTUGAL Posts: 9296 Joined: 05.06.06 |
hmm... in an open environment it is hard to happens that, i think. I'm thinking about the heating generating by the motor that could attract the tabanids. I know about the poisoning from monoxide carbon, but it only happens in close environments, I think. Carbon monoxide with hemoglobin forms a very highly stable compound known as Carboxy-haemoglobin, it has a greater affinity, much more than oxi-haemoglobin. Monoxide carbon inhibits the cellular respiration... and hence the danger for mammals. About the ice cream vendors, yes... sometimes it is possible to see... but is very rare. |
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