Tuesday September 18, 2012
Do Horse flies have nests and why do they attack people?
Horse flies and the closely related deer flies do not have nests, but deer flies, in particular, often hang out in groups waiting for food to stroll past them. That food, for the female horse and deer flies, will be the blood of warm blooded animals, and humans are perfectly acceptable. The males of these flies feed only on the nectar and other sweet plant fluids available, but the females also need blood in order to properly develop their eggs. They have mandibles similar to a pair of sharp scissors, and with these blades they slash open the skin, apply some saliva to act as an anticoagulant and keep the blood flowing, and lap up the blood rather than suck it out like a mosquito does. Attacks on livestock by large numbers of these flies can lead to serious blood loss, and when they bite people it seems they are not always kind enough to anesthetize the bite site first, so it can be really painful.
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