Benign Deer Fly

Chrysops mitis · Order: Diptera · Family: Tabanidae

No source yet on danger. We have no source yet on whether it bites, stings or damages anything.
Benign Deer Fly
Photo: RJ Baltierra, CC BY

Chrysops mitis is a deer fly belonging to the family Tabanidae. It is found in Canada and the United States.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it comes from

It occurs in Canada and the United States.

Source: Wikipedia

Where it is found in the US

Recorded in 24 of 51 states and DC. Most records: New Hampshire, Michigan, Wisconsin, Idaho, Vermont, Wyoming, New York, Colorado.

Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.

Source: GBIF

Status: native in North America; native in Canada. Source: iNaturalist

Months it is reported in the US

JFMAMJJASOND

Source: GBIF

More photos

Benign Deer Fly photo 3
Photo: apocritev, CC BY
Benign Deer Fly photo 4
Photo: Bennett Grappone, CC BY
Benign Deer Fly photo 5
Photo: iNaturalist user, CC0
Benign Deer Fly photo 6
Photo: Ilona, CC BY-SA

Same family (Tabanidae)

Black Horse FlyBlack Horse FlyTabanus atratusCan biteBeautiful Deer FlyBeautiful Deer FlyChrysops callidusCan biteStriped Horse FlyStriped Horse FlyTabanus lineolaCan biteTabanus sulcifronsTabanus sulcifronsTabanus sulcifronsTwin-lobed Deer FlyTwin-lobed Deer FlyChrysops relictusSplayed Deer FlySplayed Deer FlyChrysops caecutiensCan bite

Sources

  • Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysops_mitis

Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia

Text written 2026-10-24 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-24.

How this page works

This is one bug's fact sheet. The colored box at the top says whether it is dangerous. Sections below cover how to recognize it, whether it is a pest, and how to deal with it. The US map shows which states have records; tap a state to see other bugs there.

Every fact on Bug FAQ comes from a named source (university extension sites, government agencies, GBIF, iNaturalist, Wikipedia). The source is linked next to each section. If we have no source for something, we leave it out.