Black-Tailed Deer Fly vs Tsetse Fly (Forest)

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Black-Tailed Deer Fly Tsetse Fly (Forest)
Scientific Name Chrysops niger Glossina palpalis
Order Diptera Diptera
Family Tabanidae Glossinidae
Size 7-10 mm 8-14 mm
Habitat Wetlands Rivers & Streams
Diet Blood Feeders Blood Feeders
Regions Northeastern United States and southeastern Canada Africa
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Black-Tailed Deer Fly

A small dark deer fly with mostly blackened wings and green iridescent eyes. It is an aggressive daytime biter commonly encountered near wooded wetlands.

💡

Did You Know?

It is most active during overcast humid days and tends to bite repeatedly if swatted away without being killed.

Tsetse Fly (Forest)

A major vector of African trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness). Unique among flies for giving live birth to a single large larva nourished internally with a milk-like substance.

💡

Did You Know?

The tsetse fly nourishes its single developing larva with a milk gland — this is the closest any insect comes to mammalian lactation and pregnancy.