Horse-fly

Rain brake ( Haematopota pluvialis )

  • Pangoniinae
  • Scepsidinae
  • Chrysopinae
  • Tabaninae

Brakes ( Tabanidae ) are a family from the suborder of flies ( Brachycera ) in the order (Diptera ) and belong to the blood-sucking ( haematophagous ) Insects (Insecta ). They bite humans and other AC and DC blooded animals ( warm-blooded). They are particularly active in Central Europe from April to August on humid days.

In northern Germany, the brake is often ( cf. botfly ) also called Dase or blind fly, in West Germany Cuckoo Blinder, in southern Germany and parts of Austria and Switzerland Braeme or Brämer, historically there is Brämse.

Nutrition

Most of the approximately 4,000 species sucks the blood females, while the male flowers visited and sucking nectar. In some species the females eat also vegetable, live while some tropical species of carrion.

The mouthparts of the brakes are transformed into a stiletto proboscis, which consists of labrum, hypopharynx and the paired mandibles and maxillae. The lancets are enclosed in the back of the labium.

Unlike the mosquitoes bite of the brakes is clearly painful noticeable because the mouthparts are much larger. It occurs in large amounts itching at the sting site. How is mosquito bites there for a few hours a wheal. Brakes are especially attracted by sweat and can sting even through clothing. How many blood-sucking insects squirt before Bloodsucking an anticoagulant secretion which causes, when the relatively large stab wound a further bleeding after sucking. Brakes can be up to 0.2 ml blood sucking.

Brakes as disease carriers

Brakes are responsible through their bite for the mechanical transmission of anthrax, Weil 's disease, tularemia, and Lyme disease to humans, see also routes of infection and blood-sucking insects.

The human pathogenic filaria Loa Loa used in West Africa representative of the brakes subfamily Chrysopinae as an intermediate host.

The Surra of horses and camels is also outside the Tsetsegürtels, as well as the cross paralysis of horses in South America, transmitted by tabanids by mechanical means.

Furthermore there are brakes on suspicion of nagana in Africa to animals and sleeping sickness to humans also transfer by mechanical means.

Since horseflies ( Tabanus sudeticus ) can transmit the belonging to the lentivirus EIA virus by mechanical means, there is also a theoretical possibility that the belonging to the same genus HIV virus can be transmitted by horseflies because the proboscis these Brake is large enough, the HIV virus in temporarily storing of infection sufficient quantity each as an injection cannula inside and out. However, the HIV virus so far, no such transfer cases have been reported.

Prevention

Commercial, produced on the basis of essential oils repellents for mosquito bite protection act only briefly or not at all protect against the bites of the brake.

Genera and some species in Germany

  • Chrysops Chrysops relictus, deer fly
  • Chrysops flavipes
  • Silvius alpinus
  • Pangonius micans
  • Haematopota pluvialis, rain brake
  • Heptatoma pellucens

Tabanus sp.

Tabanus bromius

Tabanus bromius

Tabanus bromius with proboscis

Fossil evidence

Fossil evidence of this family are rare. The oldest clear evidence is of Eocene age, both of Baltic amber and from a geological layer of this age on the Isle of Wight. For the most part slightly younger Dominican amber genus Stenotabanus is described. In Mesozoic deposits found Brachycera, which were once regarded as belonging to this family, today other taxa are assigned.

Labrum (arthropod mouthpart) Mandible (insect mouthpart) Filarioidea Animal trypanosomiasis
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