Deer Flies and Horse Flies of Berrien County, Michigan, and Vicinity

Deer flies and horse flies are members of the Family Tabanidae within the Order Diptera and Class Insecta. Some 3,000 species are known worldwide, 350 in North America, 100 in the Great Lakes region, and 96 in Michigan. Of the 96 species documented from Michigan in Kirby L. Hays’s (1956) compilation (.pdf), 31 species representing 2 subfamilies and 4 genera are recorded from Berrien County (28) or adjacent Cass (1) or Van Buren (6) counties.

In the following list, an asterisk (*) following a species name denotes a species recorded from Berrien County; species recorded in Cass or Van Buren county are so indicated [in brackets]; and question marks (?????) indicate a species whose taxonomic validity has not been verified:

Subfamily Chrysopsinae (deer flies):

Chrysops callidus (=callida)*

Chrysops carbonaria, carbon-colored deer fly*

Chrysops celeries* ?????

Chrysops dacne*

Chrysops excitans*

Chrysops frigidus (=frigida)*

Chrysops germinatus (=germinate)* [Van Buren]

Chrysops Indus (=inda)*

Chrysops moechus (=moecca)*

Chrysops montanus (=montana)* [Van Buren]

Chrysops niger (=nigra), black deer fly*

Chrysops obsoletus (=obsoleta)*

Chrysops pikei*

Chrysops pudicus (=pudica)* [Van Buren]

Chrysops sackeni [Cass]

Chrysops univittatus (=univittata & wiedemanni)*

Chrysops vittatus (=vittata), striped deer fly*

Subfamily Tabaninae (horse flies):

Atylotus pemeticus [Van Buren]

Hybomitra affinis*

Hybomitra hinei [Van Buren]

Hybomitra lasiophthalma, green-headed horse fly*

Tabanus atratus, black horse fly*

Tabanus lineola, striped horse fly*

Tabanus nigrescens*

Tabanus marginalis (=nivosus)* [Van Buren]

Tabanus pumilus*

Tabanus quinquevittatus*

Tabanus reinwardtii*

Tabanus sparus*

Tabanus stygius*

Tabanus trimaculatus*