Bug FAQStriped Horse Fly
Tabanus lineola · Order: Diptera · Family: Tabanidae
Source: Wikipedia
Female Tabanus lineola will bite you, while males do not bite.
Source: Wikipedia
How to recognize it
Female Tabanus lineola have a pale stripe down the middle of the abdomen; males lack eye hair.
Source: Wikipedia
Does it bite or sting?
Female Tabanus lineola bite, while males do not bite.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it lives
They are found on the eastern seaboard of North America and the Mexican Gulf coast.
Source: Wikipedia
Where it is found in the US
Recorded in 38 of 51 states and DC. Most records: Illinois, Texas, Mississippi, Florida, South Carolina, Louisiana, Michigan, Massachusetts.
Darker = more records. Counts are museum and citizen-science records, not population size.
Source: GBIF
Months it is reported in the US
Source: GBIF
More photos
Questions people ask
Same family (Tabanidae)
Sources
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabanus_lineola
Look it up elsewhere: GBIF · iNaturalist · BugGuide · ITIS · Wikipedia
Text written 2026-10-23 from the sources above and checked sentence by sentence against them. Data fetched 2026-10-23.