Biting insect, no idea what it is

alsxx

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Since we are in Devon, might be best placed in the SW forum, but hoping more people see it here.

Trying to identify what is terrifying my girls. It's FAST, and they are terrified of it. They will gallop up and down shouting to be brought in while being chased by this fly.... it's hard to get a good look at it, but almost looks fluffy ish and a yellowy browny colour. Once in stables it seems to b*gger off.

Not a horse fly, not a deer fly (we do get those) and doesn't look like a crab fly.

Any ideas!?
 
Clodagh I think that is it.... I've never known them to bite though before moving here!? I did just rescue them in and they had a fresh load of bott eggs on their legs, now removed.
 
Bot fly! Makes my mare go mental - last time there was one near her she ran up to me and stood still while I flapped around trying to kill it with a bit of spare stable cladding that I happened to have in my hand (was fixing the stables) - I actually managed to kill it by squashing it on her with said bit of wood!
 
Warble flies were eradicated back in 1990. It used to play havoc with our hides we bought in to make saddlery and we had to allow wastage on the hide from warble fly holes. IF it is the warble you should inform DEFRA.
Years ago my old uncle said when he was leading the cows in for milking if a warble was near them they used to stampede and run with their tails bolt upright, down right dangerous to the herdsman trying to get out of the way .
PLEASE inform the authorities if it is the warble as it needs to be dealt with and quickly.
Warbles are fluffy like a bumble bee
 
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There’s the dark giant horsefly that’s fairly common in Europe regions. We have them here. Theyre about 1 inch long. They can sometimes be mistaken for a wasp at a fast glance. They’re a lot larger than the standard grey horse flies, and a lot louder.
My 2 horses galloped back to the yard when letting them out the other day as there was a dark giant going for them, and they only react like that with the large giant ones, no other flies of any type cause them to run away!
The bite is mean as hell from the giant horsefly.

IMG_9379.jpeg
 
There’s the dark giant horsefly that’s fairly common in Europe regions. We have them here. Theyre about 1 inch long. They can sometimes be mistaken for a wasp at a fast glance. They’re a lot larger than the standard grey horse flies, and a lot louder.
My 2 horses galloped back to the yard when letting them out the other day as there was a dark giant going for them, and they only react like that with the large giant ones, no other flies of any type cause them to run away!
The bite is mean as hell from the giant horsefly.

View attachment 162309
Don’t know if that’s the same as we get on this Greek island, but they can grow to over one inch and the female has the most beautiful iridescent green eyes. Main prey is goat and its bite is truly vicious, the Greeks call it δαβαλοζ “dagger”.
 
Don’t know if that’s the same as we get on this Greek island, but they can grow to over one inch and the female has the most beautiful iridescent green eyes. Main prey is goat and its bite is truly vicious, the Greeks call it δαβαλοζ “dagger”.
They are truly huge aren’t they! They are not as common as the smaller grey horse fly - probably 1 giant horse fly in 500 horse flies. The dagger is an apt name! I rescued one the other day covered in pollen from my lilies, trapped behind netting to prevent deer eating the flowers. It was angry and buzzing like a bee…I initially thought it was a bee before seeing those amazing iridescent eyes!
Thankfully they’re not as common as the smaller horseflies. That would be hellish!

We also get massive wood wasps here - they can be up to 2 inches long with a 2 inch spike protruding from their bum! Thankfully they’re leave us and animals alone and just seek wood to lay their eggs. When I first saw one I was absolutely floored, thinking it was a lethal wasp!
 
Warble flies were eradicated back in 1990. It used to play havoc with our hides we bought in to make saddlery and we had to allow wastage on the hide from warble fly holes. IF it is the warble you should inform DEFRA.
Years ago my old uncle said when he was leading the cows in for milking if a warble was near them they used to stampede and run with their tails bolt upright, down right dangerous to the herdsman trying to get out of the way .
PLEASE inform the authorities if it is the warble as it needs to be dealt with and quickly.
Warbles are fluffy like a bumble bee
It seems bot and warble are used interchangeably when googling. It's definitely fluffy, I first thought it was a bee (last summer when we moved here).

Have never known any fly to cause them to charge around and get in such a state, they end up dripping in sweat and yelling to come in. I'll look at the DEFRA link, thanks.
 
It seems bot and warble are used interchangeably when googling. It's definitely fluffy, I first thought it was a bee (last summer when we moved here).

Have never known any fly to cause them to charge around and get in such a state, they end up dripping in sweat and yelling to come in. I'll look at the DEFRA link, thanks.
I mistakenly called the vet thinking my girl was collicking once when in fact she was being terrorised by a bot fly. She was ramming her sides against the fence / tree and up and down rolling trying to squash the bleedin thing.
 
Bot fly's don't have a sting or any mouth parts. What looks like a sting is an ovipostor that they lay eggs through. You can catch them in your hand and squash them without any problem to you at all. They are attempting to spray eggs onto the horses legs. Why this should terrorise them more than biting flies I don't know but they do, just as warbles did the smame to cattle. Used to be a regular sight before warbles were eradicated, to see cattle galloping madly round their fields, known as 'gadding'.
Thankfully using strict worming protocols we have managed to get rid of them from our horses and never see them running madly any more as we used to. Bot flys are horrible things.
 
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