Black Horse Fly (Tabanus atratus)

Resting on the outer wall of a building (late in the evening) in a backyard habitat in NW Georgia.

comments (21)

Christine Young

Lion

Nice shots! I've been bitten by these punks! The fly in your shots is male (their eyes touch). Males don't feast on blood thankfully ;) Posted 7 years ago
1. Flown Kimmerling
  
  Lion
  
  Yes, the eyes are joined at the middle, so this is a male! :)
  
  I was bitten so many times as a kid by the females! They would always dive-bomb us whilst we swam in the lake! They are mean! Posted 7 years ago
2. 1. Christine Young
    
    Lion
    
    Yes, so mean! The bites are so very painful too! As telmophages, they are such vicious and messy eaters - they just slash skin with their sword-like mouthparts and then lap up the pool of blood. They have no finesse like mosquitoes. Posted 7 years ago, modified 7 years ago
  2. 1. Christine Young
      
      Lion
      
      And yet, they supposedly rarely feed on humans. Yeah right! ;P Posted 7 years ago
    2. 1. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        So, I'm totally perseverating here, but....one cool thing to consider is that insects are cold-blooded. So, when hematophagous insects take a blood meal from a warm-blooded host, they are in danger of going into shock from the temperature difference. To combat this potential problem, they have heat shock proteins that are released when feeding on warm blood. Cool, huh?! Mosquitoes, bed bugs, etc. have this same mechanism to deal with warm blood meals. Posted 7 years ago
      2. Flown Kimmerling
        
        Lion
        
        You are so smart, twinsie! I have never thought about that! Posted 7 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Lol, nah, but thanks...I learned about it in grad school because I had to keep blood at a certain temp for my mosquito colonies ;) Posted 7 years ago
    3. Ferdy Christant
      
      Lion
      
      I once read horse flies fly at speeds a hundred times faster than a common house fly. Mean machines!
      
      The absolute worst fly I've ever encountered is the Tsetse fly. They bite through clothing, do so repeatedly, when you chase one of, it's back in 10 seconds for another bite. Posted 7 years ago
    4. 1. Flown Kimmerling
        
        Lion
        
        Euuugh! That sounds awful! They are a disease vector as well, no? Posted 7 years ago
      2. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        Yes, I was told (in Tanzania) that only when you get bitten repeatedly for a month or so in a row, you're in danger of getting the sleeping disease. In many places they put blue flags at the base of trees, for some reason that attracts them. Posted 7 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        They are attracted to bright color and high contrast. The flags have insecticides, which kill the flies within minutes. Posted 7 years ago
        
        Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        So how would I make myself a low contrast person?
        Thank you, did not know that about the flags. Posted 7 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Lol, don't wear any clothes, I suppose. Smear mud all over your body and wear green leaves? Posted 7 years ago
        
        Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        Great! Facebook live feed starting soon, hope it works! Posted 7 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Lol :-O Posted 7 years ago
      3. Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Yes, they are fast and mean...but, also dumb. They are pretty easy to swat away before they finish their bloodmeal.
        
        Eek, I've heard that tsetse fly bites are pretty gnarly. Here's something crazy about tsetse flies... they have molecules in their saliva that reduce blood coagulation and inflammation. Normal for a blood sucker, I imagine. BUT, when a tsetse fly is infected with a parasite, the production of these molecules diminishes, which means that they have to feed for longer periods of time to obtain a full meal....Thus increasing the chances that a parasite will be transmitted.
        
        I've been bitten and stung by many meanies, but I think the worst was a bald-faced hornet. Others on my list are: mosquitoes (duh, but Psorophora sp. bites are INTENSE), ticks (duh squared), bed bugs, fire ants, red ants, paper wasp, leeches, normal ants, giant water bugs, deer and horse flies, fleas, spiders, dragonflies, and dobsonflies. Not sure what else. But, those are the most memorable. I'm guessing your list is much more exotic! Posted 7 years ago
      4. Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        I did not know all that. From my limited experience with the tsetse, they did not come across as dumb to me. After repeatedly chasing them away, they found a new angle of attack from the bottom of the car, biting through our socks. Either way, dumb or not, they come in endless numbers.
        
        I actually don't have much of an exotic list of bites, quite a lot less than yours! I regularly get bitten by mosquito of course, as it cannot be avoided, and in some places leeches cannot be dodged either. I'm sure there's an army of smaller and less painful bites I've encountered without being aware. I don't recall very painful bites from ants, spiders or wasp at all, except maybe in my childhood. Posted 7 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Oh no - the tsetse flies are definitely not dumb...I was referring to horse flies :) Posted 7 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Many of my bites were done on dares - a way that entomology grad students amuse themselves by daring each other to get bitten or stung by certain insects. I think that technically makes us as "dumb" as horse flies ;P Posted 7 years ago
        
        Ferdy Christant
        
        Lion
        
        Ah, gotcha! I found the tsetse fly unusually bold. Most flies flee away from the slightest movement, these buggers would just keep feeding unless they were absolutely sure you were going to hit them. And then flee at the last possible moment, and be back in like 5 secs. In some places we simply could not stand still with the jeep, it is so maddening. Posted 7 years ago
        
        Christine Young
        
        Lion
        
        Ack, I have heard that about them. You need a whole body net or a bubble to walk around in to avoid them. Must drive the poor animals insane. Posted 7 years ago