#3842 · 🪰 flies & mosquitoes
Large Marsh Horse Fly
🇳🇱 Grijze runderdaas ·Tabanus autumnalis
📍 Onderuit, 1181 KK Amstelveen, Nederland
📍 Graafland, Groot-Ammers, South Holland, NL
📍 Achter de Hoven, Gennep, Limburg, NL
📍 2851 Haastrecht, Nederland
📍 Nationaal Park De Biesbosch, Werkendam, Noord-Brabant, NL
📍 Alkmaar, Nederland
📍 Nieuweweg, Muntendam, Groningen, NL
10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences
- 1. © Paul Cools · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 2. © Thomas Wrbka · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 3. © Jean-Paul Boerekamps · CC0
- 4. Onderuit, 1181 KK Amstelveen, Nederland:© nickfartree · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 5. Graafland, Groot-Ammers, South Holland, NL:© no rights reserved · CC0
- 6. Achter de Hoven, Gennep, Limburg, NL:© wasdadan · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 7. 2851 Haastrecht, Nederland:© Paul G. Schrijvershof · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- 8. Nationaal Park De Biesbosch, Werkendam, Noord-Brabant, NL:© markusgmeiner · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 9. Alkmaar, Nederland:© Joost . · CC BY-NC 4.0
- 10. Nieuweweg, Muntendam, Groningen, NL:© nietje__ · CC BY-NC 4.0
what is it?
Tabanus autumnalis , the large marsh horsefly , is a medium-sized species of biting horse-fly. It is somewhat scarce compared to T. bromius and T. bovinus . This species shows slightly more of a preference for coastal marsh than some of the other European Tabanus , sometime even found in saltmashes. Wing length is 13–16 mm and about 16–22 mm in body length.
base stats
Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).
fun facts
- Spotted 77 times in the Netherlands on iNaturalist.
- 1,786 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
- Scientifically named in 1761 (265 years ago).
fact sheet
- English
- Large Marsh Horse Fly
- Nederlands
- Grijze runderdaas
- scientific name
- Tabanus autumnalis
- class
- Insecta
- order
- Diptera
- family
- Tabanidae
- sightings in NL
- 77
- sightings in Europe
- 393
- sightings worldwide
- 1,786
- GBIF records in NL
- 9,942
- weight
- —
- length
- —
- lifespan
- —
- named
- 1761
relatives· Tabanidae
Sources: iNaturalist taxon 154668, Wikidata Q1617236, GBIF 1499769, Wikipedia (EN), Wikipedia (NL). Intro text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.