diff --git a/src/main/java/org/gbif/literature/search/EsSearchRequestBuilder.java b/src/main/java/org/gbif/literature/search/EsSearchRequestBuilder.java
index 137558e..fa35414 100644
--- a/src/main/java/org/gbif/literature/search/EsSearchRequestBuilder.java
+++ b/src/main/java/org/gbif/literature/search/EsSearchRequestBuilder.java
@@ -314,7 +314,7 @@ private List<QueryBuilder> buildTermQuery(Collection<String> values, P param, St
     // collect queries for each value
     List<String> parsedValues = new ArrayList<>();
     for (String value : values) {
-      if (isNumericRange(value) || isDateRange(value)) {
+      if (isNumericRange(value) || (esFieldMapper.isDateField(esField) && isDateRange(value))) {
         queries.add(buildRangeQuery(esField, value));
         continue;
       }