Tabanus minuscularius Austen, 1912 - Identification

Length 8 to 10 mm.
Small, dusky species, with conspicuously grey-striped thorax, and dorsum of abdomen marked with an ill-defined yellowish-grey, median, longitudinal stripe, and, midway between this and lateral margin on each side, a sharply defined and sometimes broader stripe of lighter grey, more or less distinctly composed of a series of elongate spots. Wings clear with yellowish veins and stigma.

Original description by Austen:
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/18638758#page/43/mode/1up

Photos in Smit 2019:
https://repository.up.ac.za/bitstream/handle/2263/76793/Smit_Abundance_2019.pdf?sequence=1

Known from Mozambique, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, South Africa (the most common Tabanus collected in the KNP)

Posted on August 7, 2023 06:23 PM by traianbertau