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Splayed Deerfly - Chrysops caecutiens
Length 8.5 to 10 mm. The females have a characteristic splayed v-shaped marking on tergite 2. Males have the abdomen almost entirely black, though tergite 2 is narrowly orange at its sides; the male mid tibiae are normally entirely black.
It can occur in a variety of habitats but often in damp or well wooded places.
They are active from May to September
The predatory larvae live in wet mud and debris at the edges of streams and pools. This is one of our two frequent deerflies and with a strongly developed taste for human blood.
Widespread and fairly frequent in much of England and Wales, though less common from Cumbria northwards.
Fairly frequent but not well recorded in Leicestershire and Rutland.
Chrysops ID Guide - Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme
Chrysops caecutiens - Influential Points
Leicestershire & Rutland Map
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Yellow squares = NBN records (all known data)
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Species profile
- Common names
- Splayed Deerfly
- Species group:
- Flies
- Kingdom:
- Animalia
- Order:
- Diptera
- Family:
- Tabanidae
- Records on NatureSpot:
- 7
- First record:
- 30/06/1949 (Wesley, Isaac)
- Last record:
- 15/07/2021 (Smith, Peter)
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% of records within its species group
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