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Feeding Behaviour
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Activity Dynamics
Most temperate species have very distinctive seasonal flight periods which vary little from year to year. Tabanids are strong fliers and readily disperse several kilometres in short-term flights. But it was suggested, based on mark-release-recapture studies, that local populations tend to remain in a given area, with dispersal occurring in a series of short flights. Males do not feed on blood, whereas the blood meal size in females varies from 20-25 mg for many Chrysops species to almost 700 mg for Tabanus atratus.
The transmission of Trypanosoma evansi is mechanical in contrast to other Trypanosoma species in e.g., tsetse flies.
