Dark green colour as an attractant for horseflies (Diptera: Tabanidae)

Females of five horsefly (Diptera: Tabanidae) genera (8 species), which attacked people working at four localities of the PLA Zdarske vrchy on June 24th, 2005, were attracted mostly by the dark green work trousers of one member. No chemical attractants were used. A total of 72 horseflies were captured. The eudominant species (77.8 %) was Tabanus bromius Linnaeus, 1758, dominant species were Hybomitra lundbecki Lyneborg, 1959 (8.3 %) and Hybomitra micans (Meigen, 1804)(5.5 %), the subdominant species was Heptatoma pellucens (Fabricius, 1776)(2.8 %) and recedent species were Glaucops hirsutus (Villers, 1789)(1.4 %), Hybomitra kaurii Chyala et Lyneborg, 1970 (1.4 %), Haematopota crassicornis Wahlberg. 1848 (1.4 %), and Haematopota pluvialis (Linnaeus, 1758)(1.4 %). Most (95.8 %) of the horseflies were captured in the afternoon. The observation was repeated in Prstice near Brno on July 3rd, 2005 and Brno-Sobesice on July 30th, 2005, where ten females of T. bromius and one T. bromius, three Tabanus glaucopis Meigen, 1820 and one H. pluvialis were caught, respectively.