154 bytes added ,  17:16, 6 August 2010
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==Recognition==
 
==Recognition==
 
::'''Adults'''
 
::'''Adults'''
Tabanidae flies are large flies, up to 2.5cm long with bodies that are usually dark in colour. The dark bodies may have stripes or patches of colour down them or be entirely coloured in some cases. They have broad heads with biting mouth parts and bulging eyes that are often brightly coloured. The mouthparts are adapted to biting a sucking blood, and always point downwards. They consist of paired mandibles and maxillae which are used for cutting and rasping to create a feeding hole. Blood is then sucked using a protruding hypopharynx. The mouthparts are short and deal roughly with the host, this is often the cause of pain for the host.
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Tabanidae flies are large flies, up to 2.5cm long with bodies that are usually dark in colour. The dark bodies may have stripes or patches of colour down them or be entirely coloured in some cases. They have broad heads with biting mouth parts and bulging eyes that are often brightly coloured. The mouthparts are adapted to biting a sucking blood, and always point downwards. They consist of paired mandibles and maxillae which are used for cutting and rasping to create a feeding hole. Blood is then sucked using a protruding hypopharynx. The mouthparts are short and deal roughly with the host, this is often the cause of pain for the host. Only females take a blood meal, males lack mandibles and may only feed on honeydew and nectar.
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The winds of Tabanidae flies have a distinctive venation
    
::'''Larvae'''
 
::'''Larvae'''
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