- Tabanidae
- A family of bloodsucking flies that includes the genera Tabanus (horsefly) and Chrysops (deerfly and mango fly), which are involved in transmission of several blood-borne parasites. [L. tabanus, gadfly]
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Ta·ban·i·dae tə-'ban-ə-.dē n pl a very large family of the order Diptera comprising the horseflies and deerflies whose females suck blood and sometimes transmit disease (as loaiasis) to human beings* * *
Ta·ba·ni·dae (tə-banґĭ-de) the tabanids or horseflies, a family of insects that bite mammals to get blood. It includes the genera Chrysops, Diachlorus, Goniops, Haematopota, Hybomitra, Silvius, and Tabanus. Many species are vectors of disease.
Medical dictionary. 2011.