Flies of the family Tabanidae, commonly known as horse flies and deer flies, are well known to anyone who spends at least a moderate time outdoors in the summer, away from densely populated areas.
The blood-sucking behavior of these great majority of these flies is threatening, and even the possibility of being bitten by them as they fly around humans and wild and domesticated animals can cause great anguish.
There are important reasons to know the fauna and its distribution well and to be able to identify, with the least amount of difficulty, all the species. The most satisfactory method of doing this is by use of identification keys, in conjunction with adequate descriptions and illustrations of the genera and species. This publication is the first modern attempt to fulfill the requirements for identifying all the currently recognized species of Tabanidae of Canada and Alaska and to plot collection records of these species, thus giving an indication of their distribution.
The blood-sucking behavior of these great majority of these flies is threatening, and even the possibility of being bitten by them as they fly around humans and wild and domesticated animals can cause great anguish.
There are important reasons to know the fauna and its distribution well and to be able to identify, with the least amount of difficulty, all the species. The most satisfactory method of doing this is by use of identification keys, in conjunction with adequate descriptions and illustrations of the genera and species. This publication is the first modern attempt to fulfill the requirements for identifying all the currently recognized species of Tabanidae of Canada and Alaska and to plot collection records of these species, thus giving an indication of their distribution.