Horse-Flies...Been bitten yet ?

[maria warwick]

 

[TreeswingerPerth]

They have been hellish here this week , full defence mode for the next month or so !!

[Rough Hewn]

I'm sure they're bigger this year.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Arbtalk

[Billhook]

https://goo.gl/images/aLb6B2

Gad fly or green eyed monster ?

This is what we are talking about?

 

sent from my phone but never in work time.

 

 

I have only seen clegs this year but the Chrysops is really a very beautiful insect, also called a Deer Fly

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=tabanidae+chrysops&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiHqPmu2PvUAhUlJMAKHdoJDUkQ_AUICigB&biw=887&bih=410#imgrc=o7aFmgtG_sDSqM:

 

They are the noisy ones who test your reactions with a few low passes before going into silent mode for the attack!

 

The Horse Fly Clegs on the other hand are dull looking and fly silently.

 

Both very vulnerable once they have settled and begun to feed but only if they are in a place where you can swat them, probably difficult around your soft and juicy bum area!

 

Wiki says

 

. In general, country-folk did not distinguish between the various biting insects that irritated their cattle and called them all "gad-flies", from the word "gad" meaning a spike. The most common name is "cleg[g]", "gleg" or "clag", which comes from Old Norse and may have originated from the Vikings.[3]

 

So it may be of some consolation that the Vikings also met some local resistance here when they invaded!