Tabanus sulcifrons

Latin Name	Observation date	Location
Tabanus sulcifrons	January 03 2025	Buket Alue Puteh, Aceh, Indonesia

Tabanus sulcifrons is a type of large fly belonging to the tabanidae family, this fly is better known by the common name horsefly or blood-sucking fly, as the name suggests, this fly has the habit of sucking blood from livestock and humans, Tabanus sulcifrons is often found in tropical areas and subtropics throughout the world and including the forest I visited this time, I found Tabanus sulcifrons in a forest near a swamp where lots of weeds grew thickly while doing a small exploration two days ago.

Physically, Tabanus sulcifrons is quite easy to recognize because its size is quite large, as you can see in the picture where the body of Tabanus sulcifrons reaches 10-14 millimeters, the wing color is dominant with a transparent pattern and there are also several dark spots which give it a distinctive appearance when Tabanus sulcifrons fly, this fly also has two large eyes and looks striking with a variety of colors, these eyes function very well when they see prey from a distance of several meters from where they are.

Their habit of biting and sucking blood is the main characteristic of Tabanus sulcifrons, female flies need this for the development of their eggs so they are more active in looking for their prey, Tabanus sulcifrons bites are quite painful and can cause inflammation of the skin, even though Tabanus sulcifrons only sucks a small amount of blood However, repeated bites can cause stress in livestock, the disturbance from these flies can reduce livestock productivity such as weight loss and milk production.

Even though Tabanus sulcifrons is known as a scary bloodsucker, they also have a role in the ecosystem, as larvae they usually start life in damp soil or places near water such as swamps or aquatic plants, Tabanus sulcifrons larvae feed on degraded organic matter and also help breaking down the remains of organic matter in the environment they are in, their life process begins when female Tabanus sulcifrons lay their eggs in moist soil or aquatic plants and then hatch into larvae, after some time the larvae will turn into Tabanus sulcifrons adult ready to forage and breed.

This fly also acts as a spreader of several types of parasitic diseases, although not as big as other disease vectors such as mosquitoes, in several areas it has been reported that Tabanus sulcifrons has spread parasitic diseases in livestock and this is very detrimental to traditional breeders, diseases such as anaplasmosis or theileriosis can spread through This fly bites, therefore, simple actions to prevent the population of Tabanus sulcifrons are considered very important to do, especially if you are a breeder, actions you can take are cleaning the cage, spraying pesticides regularly around the cage, or you can also make smoke from organic waste around the cage which will keep Tabanus sulcifrons away from your livestock.

It can be concluded that Tabanus sulcifrons is a blood-sucking fly that is quite large and attracts attention because of the painful bites they give, although their numbers are not as large as other fly species, their presence needs to be monitored because they can cause disease vectors which will be very detrimental to the health of livestock. As part of the world of insects, Tabanus sulcifrons has an impact that cannot be ignored, be wise when you find their presence around you by taking several precautions to prevent them from coming to your house and cage.

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Camera used	smartphone
Lens	-
Photography	Tabanus sulcifrons
Location	Buket Alue Puteh
Photographer	@lightofhope

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Link to original	community
Link	https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/257456705

Latitude Longitude	Map
=5.080479	=97.46383	https://www.openstreetmap.org/?mlat=5.0804793232&mlon=97.4638302997