Atylotus rusticus (Linnaeus, 1767)
(Four-lined Horsefly)

Taxonomic hierarchy:
SpeciesAtylotus rusticus (Four-lined Horsefly)
GenusAtylotus (a genus of horseflies)
FamilyTABANIDAE (horseflies, deerflies, gad flies, stouts, clegs, horsefly)
SuperfamilyTABANOIDEA (horseflies, snipe flies & water snipe flies)
InfraorderTabanomorpha (horseflies, snipe flies & soldier flies)
SuborderBRACHYCERA (short-horned flies)
OrderDIPTERA (two-winged flies)
Division Endopterygota (bees, beetles, flies, moths and other insects with wings developing internally)
InfraclassNeoptera (bees, beetles, flies, grasshoppers, moths and other advanced insects)
SubclassPTERYGOTA (bees, beetles, dragonflies, flies, grasshoppers, moths and other winged insects)
ClassINSECTA (true insects)
SubphylumHEXAPODA (insects and other 6-legged organisms)
PhylumARTHROPODA (arthropods)
SuperphylumECDYSOZOA (skin shedders)
CladeBilateria (bilaterally symmetrical animals)
SubkingdomEUMETAZOA (metazoans)
KingdomANIMALIA (animals)
DomainEukaryota (eukaryotes)
LifeBIOTA (living things)
Records of Atylotus rusticus (Four-lined Horsefly) :
1: Atylotus rusticus (Four-lined Horsefly)
29 Jun 2006 OSGR: TQ60 50° 50’ N, 0° 20’ E Vice County: East Sussex (VC 14) England
Male
Image 1: Dorsal view - close-up - enlargedImage 2: Dorsal view - close-up - enlarged (2)Image 3: Lateral view - close-up - enlargedImage 4: Latero-dorsal view - close-up - enlargedImage 5: Latero-dorsal view - close-up - enlarged (2)
2: Atylotus rusticus (Four-lined Horsefly)
28 Jun 2006 OSGR: TQ60 50° 50’ N, 0° 20’ E Vice County: East Sussex (VC 14) England
Image 1: Female - dorsal view - enlargedImage 2: Female - dorso-lateral view - enlargedImage 3: Female - head - anterior view - close-up - highly enlargedImage 4: Female - head - anterior view - highly enlargedImage 5: Female - head - anterior view - highly enlarged (2)Image 6: Female - head - anterior view - highly enlarged (3)Image 7: Female - head - front three-quarter view - close-up - highly enlargedImage 8: Female - lateral view - enlargedImage 9: Female - lateral view - enlarged (2)Image 10: Female - lateral view - enlarged (3)Image 11: Female - ventral view - enlargedImage 12: Female - ventral view - enlarged (2)
3: Atylotus rusticus (Four-lined Horsefly)
28 Jun 2006 OSGR: TQ60 50° 50’ N, 0° 20’ E Vice County: East Sussex (VC 14) England
Male
Image 1: Male - head - antero-dorsal view - close-up - highly enlargedImage 2: Male - head - antero-dorsal view - highly enlargedImage 3: Male - head - antero-dorsal view - highly enlarged (2)Image 4: Male - head - antero-lateral view - close-up - highly enlargedImage 5: Male - head - lateral view - close-up - highly enlargedImage 6: Male - head - lateral view - close-up - highly enlarged (2)
4: Atylotus rusticus (Four-lined Horsefly)
9 Jul 2005 OSGR: SP51 51° 50’ N, 1° 10’ W Vice County: Oxon (VC 23) England
Female, on ripening infructescence of Curled Dock
Image 1: Female - dorsal view - enlargedImage 2: Female - dorso-lateral view - enlargedImage 3: Female - head - anterior view - highly enlargedImage 4: Female - head - lateral view - highly enlargedImage 5: Female - ventral view - enlargedImage 6: In specimen tube - anterior view - enlargedImage 7: On dock flowers - dorsal view - enlargedImage 8: On dock flowers - dorsal view - enlarged (2)Image 9: On dock flowers - dorsal view - enlarged (3)Image 10: Wing - highly enlarged - grey backgroundImage 11: Wing - highly enlarged - pale background
5: Atylotus rusticus (Four-lined Horsefly)
9 Jul 2005 OSGR: SP51 51° 50’ N, 1° 10’ W Vice County: Oxon (VC 23) England
Male, visiting flowers of Wild Carrot
Image 1: Male - dorsal view - enlargedImage 2: Male - head and thorax - lateral view - highly enlargedImage 3: Male - head - anterior view - highly enlargedImage 4: Male - head - dorsal view - highly enlargedImage 5: Male - head - lateral view - highly enlargedImage 6: Male - lateral view - enlargedImage 7: Male - ventral view - enlargedImage 8: On Wild Carrot umbel - anterior view - enlargedImage 9: On Wild Carrot umbel - dorsal view - enlargedImage 10: On Wild Carrot umbel - dorso-lateral view - enlargedImage 11: On Wild Carrot umbel - front three-quarter view - enlargedImage 12: On Wild Carrot umbel - lateral view - enlargedImage 13: On Wild Carrot umbel - lateral view - enlarged (2)Image 14: On Wild Carrot umbel - lateral view - enlarged (3)Image 15: On Wild Carrot umbel - lateral view - enlarged (4)Image 16: On Wild Carrot umbel - lateral view - enlarged (5)Image 17: On Wild Carrot umbel - latero-dorsal view - enlargedImage 18: On Wild Carrot umbel - latero-dorsal view - enlarged (2)Image 19: On Wild Carrot umbel - rear three-quarter view - enlarged

Identification Works

AuthorYearTitleSource
Webb, J.A. & Smith, M.N. 2004 Atylotus rusticus (Linnaeus) (Diptera, Tabanidae) at the Long Herdon and Grange Meadows Reserve, Buckinghamshire Dipterists Digest (2nd Series) 10: 67-68.

Atylotus rusticus (Four-lined Horsefly) may also be included in identification literature listed under the following higher taxa:

NBNNBN (data.nbn.org.uk) has a distribution map for Atylotus rusticus (Four-lined Horsefly)
BioInfoBioInfo (www.bioinfo.org.uk) has 0 host/parasite/foodplant and/or other relationships for Atylotus rusticus (Four-lined Horsefly)

A distinctive ash-grey horsefly with pale green eyes in life. It is a slow moving species which appears more interested in flowers than biting people.

A very rare horsefly for many years confined to the Lewes/Eastbourne area in East Sussex where there have been a small number of recent records. Since 2000 it has been reported in the Central Weald (Stubbs, 2004, Br. J. Ent. Nat. Hist. 17: p23) and Long Herdon and Grange Meadows in Buckinghamshire where there appears to be a thriving population (Webb & Smith, Dipterists Digest 2004 10, 69-71) and at Otmoor in Oxfordshire, (Storey & Post, Dipterists Digest 2006 (in press)).

Has been found around midday in hot sunshine feeding on the flowers of Wild Carrot and resting on the ripening fruits of Curled Dock.

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