Fly identification help

D

Dreckly

Well-Known Member
Joined
21 March 2007
Messages
891
Location
Essex
Visit site
All you bug experts out there can you try and help me identify a pig of a fly!! Totally ruined our ride in Thetford Forest today in their millions.

I have seen them before around home but never in such numbers. No piccies, but they seem to be more prevelant in the closer forests of our deciduous trees, not so many in the open spots in the conifer planatations. They are large thinnish black bodies, they remind me of a spitfire when you see them from behind and they sort of hover about. Tried to catch one as evidence but no go. They drove my poor horse mental and no amount of fly spray made a difference.

Would love to know what they are so can find out when they are about most as do not want to repeat todays episode any time soon.
 
Not nice. Were they biting you / horse? Perhaps some sort of gnat?? I think I know the things you mean, they almost have an undercarriage??!! I remember being plagued by them camping in the borders, holding aloft a gas stove and setting them alight. Little horrors it really hurt when they bit you.

Whatever they were I bet they aren't as bad as the tiny but deadly scottish MIDGE!! LOL
 
I think you mean the Hawthorn Fly, they are rather daft and waft about dropping all over the place. Get on your nerves after a while. They oome out when the hawthorn is out hence the name.
A friend is fishing mad and apparently trout love them so you make your fly look like a hawthorn fly.
 
Thats the little bu**ers, will read up on them. I Googled for ages last evening had these never got a mention. Does this mean that when the Hawthorn flowers have finished they disappear??

The don't bite, they just buzz around head and eyes and are really annoying, my poor boy just could not take it!!

Thanks everyone
 
I often wondered what they were as we had them for a couple of days and we have tons of Hawthorn hedges in our village around the fields and thats exactly what I have seen clouds of the darn things, but they do not bite! I can imagine a horse getting bothered as they are hovering dangling everywhere, I just brush them out of the way(I think I have even ended up with them in my mouth...serves me right)! Harmless things they seem to suddenly disappear too??
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top