This is the earliest-flying species of deer fly at Russell. It is an annoying man-biting species with a transcontinental distribution south of the treeline in Canada and the USA. Larval habitats are ponds, pools, swamps and cattail marshes (Teskey, 1990).

This species represents a modest component of the early season catch of deer flies in various studies conducted in Ontario (Teskey, 1960; Davies, 1959; Bennett & Lewis, 1968; Smith et al., 1970) and in Quebec (Leprince & Lewis, 1982; Baribeau & Maire, 1983). It is widespread in the prairies (Cameron, 1926), but is not recorded as a major component of catches from Manitoba (Miller, 1951; Hanec & Bracken, 1964) and Alberta (Thomas, 1973). It is the most common man-biting species in the Maritimes (Lewis & Bennett, 1977), although Browne & Bennett (1960) caught surprisingly few individuals in experiments with sticky silhouettes in the Trantamar Marshes of New Brunswick, perhaps due to the timing of experiments. C. mitis is a common species in New York, where White et al. (1985) documented dispersal of up to 7 km for marked flies.

Considerable information is available on sugar feeding, biochemistry and ecology from a study in Algonquin Park, Ontario (Ossowski & Hunter, 2000), as well as a preliminary study at the same location (Janzen & Huner, 1998). Observations on sugar feeding and reproduction are available from a few additional studies in the USA (Magnarelli, 1976; Magnarelli & Anderson, 1981). Lake & Burger (1980) described follicular development in 100 flies dissected 1-7 days after emergence. The species is anautogenous, requiring a blood meal to produce eggs. Burger et al. (1981) described larval habitats in New Hampshire and reared considerable field material. Teskey (1969) provides information on the biology of immatures and their habitats in Canada. Iranpour & Galloway (2004) described new species of Telenomus parasitoids of eggs, and Iranpour et al. (2004) described DNA techniques for identifying egg masses.

Leprince et al. (1983) obtained limited data on male behaviour in Quebec.  Krinsky & Pechuman (1975) cultured trypanosomes from C. mitis in New York. Insect trypanosomes (Crithidia spp.) and bovid trypanosomes (Trypanosoma theileri) were present.

Baribeau, L. & Maire, A. (1983) Abundance and seasonal distribution of Tabanidae in a temperate and in a subarctic locality of Québec. Mosquito News 43, 135-143.

Bennett, G.F. & Smith, S.M. (1968) Phosphorous³² for marking Tabanidae (Diptera). Mosquito News 28, 559-569.

Browne, S.M. & Bennett, G.F. (1980) Color and shape as mediators of host-seeking responses of simuliids and tabanids (Diptera) in the Tantramar marshes, New Brunswick, Canada. Journal of Medical Entomology 17, 58-62.

Burger, J.F., Lake, D.J. &  McKay, M.L. (1981) The larval habitats and rearing of some common Chrysops species (Diptera: Tabanidae) in New Hampshire. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 83, 373-389.

Cameron, A.E. (1926) Bionomics of the Tabanidae (Diptera) of the Canadian Prairie. Bulletin of Entomological Research 17, 1-42.

Davies, D.M. (1959) Seasonal variation of tabanids (Diptera) in Algonquin Park, Ontario. Canadian Entomologist 91, 548-553.

Hanec, W. & Bracken, G.K. (1964) Seasonal and geographical distribution of Tabanidae (Diptera) in Manitoba, based on females captured in traps. Canadian Entomologist 96, 1362-1369.

Iranpour, M. & Galloway, T.D. (2004) Three new Nearctic species of Telenomus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) attacking Tabanidae eggs. Canadian Entomologist 136, 43-60.

Iranpour, M., Schurko, A.M., Klassen, G.R. & Galloway, T.D. (2004) DNA fingerprinting of tabanids (Diptera: Tabanidae) and their respective egg masses using PCR - restriction fragment profiling. Canadian Entomologist 136, 605-619.

Janzen, T.A. & Hunter, F.F. (1998) Honeydew sugars in wild-caught female deer flies (Diptera: Tabanidae). Journal of Medical Entomology 35, 685-689.

Krinsky, W.L. & Pechuman, L.L. (1975) Trypanosomes in horse flies and deer flies in central New York state. Journal of Parasitology 61, 12-16.

Lake, D.J. & Burger, J.F. (1980) Ovarian development in adult Chrysops (Diptera: Tabanidae) in northern New England, with emphasis on Chrysops ater and C. mitis. Journal of Medical Entomology 17, 502-505.

Leprince, D.J. & Lewis, D.J. (1982) Seasonal distribution of adult horse flies and deer flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) at lac Boivin, Granby, Quebec. Annals of the Entomological Society of Quebec 27, 94-99.

Leprince, D.J., Lewis, D.J. &  Parent, J. (1983) Biology of male tabanids (Diptera) aggregated on a mountain summit in southwestern Quebec. Journal of Medical Entomology 20, 608-613.

Lewis, D.J. & Bennett, G.F. (1977) Biting flies of the eastern maritime provinces of Canada. I. Tabanidae. Canadian Journal of Zoology 55, 1493-1503.

Magnarelli, L.A. (1976) Physiological age of Tabanidae (Diptera) in eastern New York state, U.S.A. Journal of Medical Entomology 12, 679-682.

Magnarelli, L.A. & Anderson, J.F. (1981) Sugar feeding by female tabanids (Diptera: Tabanidae) and its relation to gonotrophic activity. Journal of Medical Entomology 18, 429-433.

Miller, L.A. (1951) Observations on the bionomics of some northern species of Tabanidae (Diptera). Canadian Journal of Zoology 29, 240-263.

Ossowski, A. & Hunter, F.F. (2000) Distribution patterns, body size, and sugar-feeding habits of two species of Chrysops (Diptera: Tabanidae). Canadian Entomologist 132, 213-221.

Smith, S.M., Davies, D.M. &  Golini, V.I. (1970) A contribution to the bionomics of the Tabanidae (Diptera) of Algonquin Park, Ontario: seasonal distribution, habitat preferences, and biting records. Canadian Entomologist 102, 1461-1473.

Teskey, H.J. (1960) Survey of insects affecting livestock in southwestern Ontario. Canadian Entomologist 92, 531-544.

Teskey, H.J. (1969) Larvae and pupae of some eastern North American Tabanidae. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Canada 63, 147 pp.

Thomas, A.W. (1973) The deer flies (Diptera: Tabanidae: Chrysops) of Alberta. Quaestiones entomologicae 9, 161-171.