Bug Wiki
Sticker of Green horse fly
Bug card No. 2066 of 4,939

Green horse fly

Chlorotabanus crepuscularis
Eats: BloodFlies and mosquitoesPonds, rivers and shores6 legs

The green horse fly is the only green horse fly in all of North America. It likes to fly at night, when most other horse flies are resting. And here is something strange: its blood is blue.

Lives in
North America, from Texas to Delaware
Top speed
about 25 km/h (16 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Can bite
The female can give a painful bite when she wants blood. It is not dangerous, but it can itch afterwards.
What does it eat?
The female drinks the blood of mammals. Its larvae are little hunters that live in wet soil near water.
For real!Photo of Green horse fly
Picture by USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab from Beltsville, Maryland, USA. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

The female finds animals to bite by smelling the air they breathe out.

2

Its eyes are brown, but they glow yellow under special ultraviolet light.

3

In Florida you can see it from March to September, most of all from May to July.

4

Its larvae can also live on floating plants or in sandy forest soil.

you asked

Most asked questions about Green horse fly

?Does the green horse fly bite?

Yes, the female bites to drink blood, mostly at night. It hurts a bit but is not dangerous.

?What is special about the green horse fly?

It is the only green horse fly in North America, and its blood is blue.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Chlorotabanus crepuscularis
Group
Flies and mosquitoes
Family
Tabanidae
Classification
Insecta > Diptera > Tabanidae
Lives on
North America

Where the facts come from

  1. Chlorotabanus crepuscularis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab from Beltsville, Maryland, USA. Public domain, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip

More from the same group: Flies and mosquitoes

Also at home here: Ponds, rivers and shores

Honey jarfor grown-ups