It's NASTY and bites

[Pixies]

Hello every one.

Its only recently I have come across these flying insects.
They are brownish in colour and about 20mm long with a narrow body.
I have come across them up on Dartmoor near water and marshland.
Now living on the Somerset levels around reens and marshy ground, I dont go a summer without being bitten by one or at least 50 times.
The other day swmbo and I were riding along trail when these flying insects landed on us and drew blood leaving behind a nast lump about the size of a 50 pence piece.
Then for days after wards you are left scratching the area.

My sister thinks they are cleg's
Someone thought them to be horse flys.

Any ideas

[feathered-friend]

We live near water and do get horseflys , but I do not think they have a particularly narrow body.

For the last few weeks we have had a lot of mayflys, and these gave my husband quite nasty bites last year as big as a 50p piece.They are narrow with a curved back and winged.

Google it, Could it have been these?

[John_M]

Sounds like a Tabanid fly, commonly called horse fly or cleg.

[triops]

First just a quick note for feathered-friend: Mayflies are harmless, don't bite, and in any case usually live for just a day, and have no functional mouthparts. Look carefully and try to catch your biter!

For pixies: Horse flies and clegs are family Tabanidae. Yours probably are Tabanus bromius or, if smaller, Haematopota sp. Google them for confirmation.

[Pixies]

It sounds very like the cleg/ horse fly as the wings are folded back and at an angle to the body.
Strange really because I never had problems with them as a child but only when I reached my thirties did I start being bitten.

Why when Noah was loading up the ark did he not kill these clegs and mosquitoes.

[solus]

Smack 'em with the flat of your hand as soon as you see them on your skin (same if they're biting your horse too) and they'll drop off. Don't flick at them or brush them away as this doesn't stop them biting.

[feathered-friend]

Originally Posted by triops

First just a quick note for feathered-friend: Mayflies are harmless, don't bite, and in any case usually live for just a day, and have no functional mouthparts. Look carefully and try to catch your biter!

For pixies: Horse flies and clegs are family Tabanidae. Yours probably are Tabanus bromius or, if smaller, Haematopota sp. Google them for confirmation.

Well thanks for the Info. I will ave to tell my husband and daughter they have a case of mistaken identity They insisted it was the mayfly. Myself I was bitten, but defo the horsefly