Horse-fly

Description:

Large about 15mm, brightly red colored eyes, and gray-brownish body with black stripes.

Habitat:

Spotted during a walk day at Nusa Dua - Bali, coastal area, bush & low vegetation. Only comes out in sunny and hot weather (avoids rain). Horse-flies are found worldwide, except for the polar regions.

Notes:

The Horse fly is one of the largest flies in the world, reaching 25-30mm in length, another characteristic well known to many species is their bite. Horse flies usually prefer cattle, yak, and bison blood but will on occasion bite humans. The effect of their bites is painful inflammation and swelling at the bite site. Their loud, buzzing noise they make is quite annoying as well. But Horse flies play an important role in pollinating flowers, and are often used as fish bait. The diet of the larvae consists of organic substances, other insects, small crustaceans, snails, earthworms, and tiny aquatic organisms. Adult Horse Flies feed on flower nectar, honeydew, plant juices, and animal blood, as noted above. Unfortunately, this species of Horse fly are known vectors for diseases such as anthrax, worms and trypanosomes. Scientific name: Tabanus bovinus Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Diperta Family: Tababidae