25
Sep
They live all over the world pollinating flowers and in their spare time driving people and livestock insane. Aside from the momentary pain horse fly bites generally arent harmful to humans.
Because of their cannibalistic behaviors horse fly larvae are usually found living alone.
Where did horse fly live. Horse Fly Habits These flies are mostly found in valley pastures near creeks and streams preferring more warmth and dampness and areas where livestock and humans can be found outdoors. Horse flies do not only prefer the outdoors especially near pools of water like mosquitoes. Horseflies thrive in moist environments.
The female lays eggs in the grass in the fall and the eggs hatch the following summer. The larvae of the horse-fly develop best in moist soil close to water. They only live for a short amount of time some only a few days but it is enough time for them to be pests.
Horse flies likely received their common name because they are notorious pests of horses and other mammals. They are commonly found in both suburban and rural areas near bodies of water which serve as breeding sites and where mammal hosts are most abundant. Horse fly any member of the insect family Tabanidae order Diptera but more specifically any member of the genus Tabanus.
These stout flies as small as a housefly or as large as a bumble bee are sometimes known as greenheaded monsters. Their metallic or iridescent eyes meet dorsally in the male and are separate in the femaleGad fly a nickname may refer either to the flys roving. Horse fly larvae studied by field researchers feed on midges crane flies and even other horse fly larvae.
Because of their cannibalistic behaviors horse fly larvae are usually found living alone. Deer fly larvae on the other hand usually live in groups. Horse flies love damp areas and hot weather and its common to find them in pasturelands near creeks during the summer.
Around homes they enjoy weedy areas and long grass that can trap moisture and recreate the humid pasture habitat they love so much. Horse flies can also be pests to people who hang out at the beach or local pool. Horse flies tend to be the same size as common house flies or larger but the appearance of their antennae makes them easily distinguishable.
Horse flies all have three antennal segments two jutting out on either side and a much larger and more visible segment between the other two. If you ask someone whos just been bitten the answer is from the deepest darkest depths. A more scientific explanation is that the horse fly prefers to breed in moist soil near large bodies of water but can roam up to 30 miles away.
While they prefer wooded regions they can be found in almost every land-based region except for polar. Horse-flies are found worldwide except for the polar regions but they are absent from some islands such as Greenland Iceland and Hawaii. The genera Tabanus Chrysops and Haematopota all occur in temperate subtropical and tropical locations but Haematopota is absent from Australia and South America.
Can horse flies lay eggs in humans. Some interesting facts about the deer flies. Did you know as many as 4300 species of deer flies and horse flies exist in the world.
If you are ever bitten by a deer fly then remember that it is a female that did it. The deer flies have mouths with sharp blades that. When I think of horseflies I think of the big nasty bullet-shaped monster-bugs that seem to enjoy eating my horse alive but there actually roughly some 4500 species belonging to the horsefly family Tabanidae.
They live all over the world pollinating flowers and in their spare time driving people and livestock insane. Horse flies can be rather tricky to get rid of especially in rural areas where livestock is present. Female horse flies are willing to travel great distances for their feast.
If you happen to be around an area where horse flies are a problem using repellents containing DEET can help provide protection according to the University of Kentucky. According to entomologists mature houseflies generally live for 15 to 25 days. Do horse flies die after biting.
Aside from the momentary pain horse fly bites generally arent harmful to humans. These bites are usually only a problem for horses. This is because horse flies carry equine infectious anemia also known as swamp fever.
Horse fly is the common name for biting flies in the Tabanidae family. This enormous group is made up of over 4400 separate fly species and members of this family are also often referred to as deer flies or yellow flies. Horse flies can be found almost everywhere and are often a major pest of both humans and livestock.