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HORSE FLY
Key Features
- 1 inch or longer
- Brown or black in color
- Large, often colorful or iridescent eyes
- Piercing, sucking mouth parts
Breeding Sites
- Animal carcasses
- Garbage
- Animal manure
- Decaying vegetables
- Decaying grass clippings and leaves
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HHorn Fly
Haematobia irritans (Linnaeus),
Muscidae, DIPTERA
DESCRIPTION
Adult -- The horn fly is half the size of the common
house fly and is more slender, and the horn fly has piercing-sucking
mouthparts. This fly has a brownish-gray to black body with
a slight yellowish cast, a set of parallel stripes just
behind the head, brownish-red antennae and two wings with
a smoky tinge. The body is 3.5 to 4 mm long.
Egg -- Tan, yellow or white at first, the egg
darkens to reddish-brown before hatching. It is oval-elongate
in outline, flat or concave on one side, convex on the other
and 1.2 mm long.
Larva -- The newly hatched maggot, about 1.5 mm
long, develops through three instars to reach a mature length
of 6.5 to 7.5 mm. Slender and white, it narrows to a point
at the head.
Pupa -- Enclosed within the shrunken skin of the
last larval instar, the pupa is 3.3 mm by 1.4 mm. Barrel-shaped
and white at first, the outer covering (puparium) soon turns
a dark reddish-brown.
BIOLOGY
Distribution -- Believed to have been introduced
from France prior to 1887, the horn fly now is found throughout
the continental United States and Canada.
Hosts -- Although this blood-sucking fly is primarily
a nuisance to cattle, other animals such as sheep, goats,
horses, mules and dogs are also bothered.
Damage -- Congregating on those areas of the body
where they are not likely to be disturbed (base of horns,
neck, throat, belly, thighs, back, etc.), horn flies suck
blood from livestock through their needle-like mouthparts.
Such feeding causes weight loss, reduced milk production,
and reduced vitality. Furthermore, animals become so annoyed
that they may injure themselves while attempting to dislodge
the flies. Although infestations of 4,000 to 10,000 flies
per animal are common in some parts of the country, horn
flies rarely exceed 500 per animal in North Carolina.
Life History -- Favored by warm, moist weather,
horn flies emerge in spring and seek out host animals. Although
they locate hosts most successfully during the day, they
usually disperse at night, sometimes traveling as far as
5 miles. Soon after initial feeding, females periodically
leave the host animal and deposit 1 to 14 eggs in fresh
cow manure. Both male and female horn flies apparently feed
on the manure from time to time. Eggs hatch 16 to 24 hours
later.
Over a 4- to 5-day period, the larvae feed in moist cattle
dung and develop through three instars. They then either
burrow about 4 cm (1.5 inches) into the soil or remain in
the manure and pupate. During spring and summer months,
a new brood of flies emerges 5 to 7 days later and repeats
the cycle. As winter approaches, newly formed pupae overwinter
giving rise to a new generation of flies the following spring.
Although most prevalent in spring and summer, horn flies
continue to produce a new generation approximately every
2 weeks well into autumn.
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Face Fly
Peggy K. Powell, Ph.D., Board Certified Entomologist
February, 1995
Although the face fly, Musca autumnalis, is nonbiting,
it is nonetheless a troublesome pest of cattle. The face
fly's feeding activities, normally on secretions of the
animal's eye and nose, often result in both annoyance to
the animal and transmission of disease.
Identification
Face flies are 3/8-inch long, slightly larger than the
house fly. A female face fly is slightly darker than a female
house fly, but is otherwise almost identical. The male face
fly's abdomen is orange with a black band down the center.
The puparium or pupal case of the face fly is unusual in
that it is white. An easy field identification characteristic
is that face flies congregate in clusters of 20 to 100 on
the faces of cattle.
Biology, Habits, and Life Cycle
Only the female face fly is a pest of livestock. Males
spend their time perched on vegetation, awaiting mates.
The males feed on plant nectar and on the liquid secretions
of dung. Females feed on protein contained in eye secretions,
nasal secretions, and saliva, not on blood. They feed only
during the daytime, resting on fence posts or vegetation
at night.
While the fly is feeding, the roughness of its sponging
mouthparts irritates the cow's eye and increases tear production.
Face fly feeding can transmit bacteria to the eye, increasing
the likelihood of bovine pinkeye and Thelazia eyeworms.
The lifecycle for the face fly is about
14-21 days long.
In addition to feeding on facial secretions, face flies
are sometimes facultative blood feeders. This means that
although they don't bite cattle to obtain blood, they will
feed on blood that oozes from scratches and other mechanical
wounds.
The female face fly lays her eggs only in recently deposited
(less than 15 minutes old) manure from grass-fed cattle.
They do not lay eggs in manure piles around barns or in
the trampled manure associated with feedlots.
Face fly larvae, or maggots, develop under the crust
of the manure pat. When they reach maturity, they move into
the soil next to the manure to complete their transformation
to the pupal stage. The flies emerge as adults about a week
later. Development from egg to adult requires from two to
three weeks.
The face fly is active from early spring through late
autumn. Although face flies prefer bright sunlight and do
not enter buildings during the summer, in the fall adult
face flies often seek out hibernation places inside structures.
Economic Threshold
The treatment threshold for face flies is five flies
per animal. A population of 12 to 14 flies per animal will
result in a decrease in grazing by about one hour per day.
Twenty to 200 flies per animal is considered a heavy population.
Heavy face fly populations can cause cattle to stop feeding
and move into a shady location to escape the flies, resulting
in reduced animal production. Dairy cattle will cluster
together to reduce face fly attack, thereby increasing heat
stress and reducing milk production.
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Deer fly
 Scientific
name: Chrysops sp.
(Diptera: Tabanidae)
Facts: Deer flies are biting flies with a pattern
in the wing. They are larger than a house fly but smaller
than most horse flies. They can bite human, pets, and livestock.
Larvae are large maggots usually in slow moving water where
they feed on organic matter. Adult flies can be found around
lakes and ponds. However, they are also a pest of livestock
in rangeland where the adults like to roost in cedar trees.
In Texas, they are sometimes called "cedar flies".
Photo credit: Bastiaan (Bart) Drees
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Black Flies
William F. Lyon
| Common Name |
Scientific Name |
BBlack Fly, Buffalo or Turkey Gnat |
Simulium vittatum Zetterstedt
Simulium
venustum Say
Simulium jenningsi
Prosimulium sp |
|
|
Adult |
Larva (top)
Pupa bottom |
Certain species of adult black fly females are fierce
biters, whereas others are strictly a nuisance by their
presence around one's nostrils, ears, arms, hands, and other
exposed skin areas. These flies can discourage people from
remaining in or visiting certain recreational areas for
fishing, camping, hiking, golf, etc. when the black fly
season occurs. Children are especially susceptible and may
be severely bitten while adults in the same area are scarcely
aware of the flies. Most complaints in Ohio occur in early
spring (April to June) in hilly areas with swiftly, flowing
streams. Bites may appear where clothing fits snugly against
the body, leaving a ring of bites just above or below the
belt line.
After the black fly finishes feeding, bleeding may continue
for some time. At first, the bite site appears as a small,
red, central spot surrounded by a slightly reddened, swollen
area. Next, the area becomes increasingly itchy, swollen
and irritating, sometimes for several days. Some black flies
readily attack people, whereas others prefer domestic animals
or birds, often feeding during the daylight hours and sometimes
into the night. Flies may become so abundant as to be drawn
into the air passages of livestock, occasionally resulting
in death. It is believed that allergic reactions to bites
may be caused by histaminic substances in the fly's saliva.
These flies transmit a disease of filarial worms, onchocerciasis,
which causes blindness in people in Mexico, Central America
and Africa in addition to protozoan parasites, leucocytozoonosis
to turkeys and wild birds. They may be potential transmitters
of encephalitis. It is suspected that the expansion of black
fly populations in Ohio is likened to improvement in stream
and river water quality in recent years. As with many aquatic
insects, black flies are very sensitive to water pollution.
Identification
Most species of adult black flies are about 1/8-inch
long (2 to 5mm), black gray or even yellow colored, broad
clear winged without hairs or scales with heavy veins near
the anterior wing margin, have short 11 segmented antennae,
large round eyes (no simple eyes) and the thorax (middle
body region) is strongly convex, giving a humpbacked, gnat-like
appearance.
Small creamy-white eggs (rather triangular) about 1/32-inch
long (0.1 to 0.4mm) are deposited on the water surface or
attached in compact masses to stones and vegetation in shallow
fast-running water (riffles) in streams and rivers. Larvae,
black to light brown colored, cylindrical, about 1/4-inch
or more long (10 to 15mm), are quite active and abundant,
sometimes appearing as moss. Pupa are boat or basket-shaped
cocoons up to 1/8-inch long (2 to 5mm) in the water.
Life Cycle and Habits
There are four species present in both Ohio and Pennsylvania
according to Dr. Peter H. Adler, Department of Entomology,
114 Long Hall, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina
29631 - Telephone 803-656-3111 (formerly conducted black
fly research in Pennsylvania).
- Simulium vittatum Zetterstedt - This species
is strictly a nuisance attacking horses and cattle,
but not humans. It does fly around people's faces. Breeding
occurs in rich productive streams such as polluted (sewage)
areas, at beaver dams, etc. It is dark gray to velvety
black. (Widely distributed in North America.)
- Simulium venustum Say - This species is a
nasty biter feared by fishermen and campers. The season
extends from May to September with greatest numbers
in June and July. They are usually less troublesome
in late summer. It is recognized by its white-marked
tibiae (leg parts). (Widely distributed, especially
in New England and Canada.)
- Simulium jenningsi - This species breeds
in huge rivers (one mile or so wide). In Pennsylvania,
New England and other states, there is currently a multimillion
dollar program applying a biological larvicide known
as Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner subspecies
israelensis (B.t.i.) into streams and rivers
to control larvae before adult emergence.
- Prosimulium sp. - This species occurs in
early spring (April to May). It is a nuisance by both
swarming and biting. Larvae occur in small woodland
streams. It is the first black fly species to appear
each year.
Black flies often occur in enormous numbers in the spring
and early summer months, especially in the northern latitudes.
Bites can be extremely painful, and their mouthparts are
somewhat similar to those of a horse fly (bladelike and
piercing) in the female. Mouth parts are rudimentary in
the male. On people, they crawl into sleeves, under neckbands,
around boot tops and other vulnerable places, especially
favoring the head just beneath the rim of a hat. Bites can
cause swelling and numb soreness for many days. There are
records of both domestic animals and people being killed
in a few hours through venomous bites and blood loss. Death
can result from suffocation as a result of plugged nasal
or bronchial tubes and allergic reactions.
Black Flies usually bite during the day in outdoor shaded
or partially-shaded areas. They do not bite indoors or late
at night. Some fly 7 to 10 miles from the breeding sites,
or are blown by wind even further to feed on warm-blooded
animals and people. Flies usually bite for about three weeks
before they die. Dark blue cloth attracts more flies than
white cloth.
Females deposit from 150 to 500 small, shiny, creamy-white
eggs on submerged objects in the stream such as on water
plants, rocks, twigs, leaves, etc. or simply scatter the
eggs over the water surface. Eggs darken then hatch in four
to five days at water temperatures of 70 deg F. Eggs deposited
in the autumn do not hatch until the following spring when
the water warms.
Young larvae attach themselves to submerged objects,
molting six times as they grow. They are elongate with the
hind part of their bodies swollen. A head fan sweeps food
material into the mouth. They retain their position in the
water by means of sucker-like discs and tiny hooks at the
tip of the abdomen. Also, they may spin a fine thread which
aids in anchoring them. Winter may be passed as larva. Pupation
occurs in a cocoon, open at one end. Adults emerge in two
to three days when the water is warm. They are capable of
immediate flight and mating. The entire life history spans
about four to six weeks, depending on species, water temperature,
available food, etc. There may be four generations per year.
Black flies are attracted to mammals by the carbon dioxide
and moisture in exhaled breath, dark colors, convection
currents, perspiration, perfumes, toiletries, etc.
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Key
Features
Other
Names
Other
Names
Other
Names
Other
Names
Key
Features
Developmental
Stages - Egg to Larvae to Pupa to Adult, 12-27
days