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Post by TashGaia on Jul 20, 2009 19:18:03 GMT -5
Since I have brought Archer home these flies have started appearing. I have had horses at the same place for 3 years and have lived here my whole life and I have never seen this bug. It appears to be some sort of horse fly (I'm thinking the Tabanus family), but I have not been able to match it up. They seem oddly attracted to Archer and will single him out of the herd and go after him and leave the other ones alone. Archer thinks they are devil spawn and runs, bucks, kicks, rears, and rolls in an attempt to escape them. These don't come in swarms, but singly... maybe 2-4 of them a day... but Archer swears the world is coming to an end for each and every one. These guys are about the size of your thumb... fuzzy black, but with a patch of BRIGHT fur right behind the head. I mostly see the yellows, but also sometimes reds, with blues being the fewest. The photos are of Tabanus Punctifer with modified markings so that it approaches the appearance of the bug I am seeing.  |
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Post by tireddog on Jul 20, 2009 23:05:54 GMT -5
Oh Tash, those are the most wretchedly huge of all demon seeds, but they are also the slowest. You are right - they only appear in low numbers, three being the most I have ever seen at one time. I stand and just catch them in my hand, squish them, throw them to the ground, and squash them to smithereens. My favorite approach is to stand with the sun to my back so I can see my own shadow (and thus the shadow of Lucifer's Child), allow it to land on me, and then HIT it hard. Mine are black on black; I wish I had your pretty-colored types. We need more information on these creatures; they are nasty.
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Post by atticus on Jul 21, 2009 9:04:44 GMT -5
I killed one yesterday that was trying to get Indi, I always thought they are just horse flies. Even fly spray does not work on them.  |
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Post by Tate on Jul 21, 2009 16:01:51 GMT -5
I've only seen one, it was while Ginger was still alive and it sent her in a wild buck that any bucking stock dealer would has been proud of, it was latched onto her, I had to knock it off and step on it, It was chasing her before it latched on too. They are very aggressive flys.
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Post by pnp4kidz on Jul 21, 2009 16:08:40 GMT -5
OMG... do NOT bring those down to CA!!!
I can honestly say those come close to a second after our potato bugs...
but first at biting! (potato bugs don't bite!)
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Post by paintedlady on Jul 21, 2009 16:18:06 GMT -5
OMG... do NOT bring those down to CA!!! I can honestly say those come close to a second after our potato bugs... but first at biting! (potato bugs don't bite!) OH YAH !! bugs with baby faces  YUM !!!!!!!!! ;D Another campfire discussion |
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Post by TashGaia on Jul 21, 2009 17:23:27 GMT -5
Yeah, next time we get together, beth, you should bring one of those potato bugs. I am dying to see it and figure out what it is. Is it a cricket? a beetle? what is it?
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Post by beckybee on Jul 21, 2009 17:43:57 GMT -5
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Post by paintedlady on Jul 21, 2009 18:00:24 GMT -5
clippity clippity chasing you down the barn isle ( as Beth would say ***SCREAMING**** while chasing you |
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Post by rodeo51 on Jul 21, 2009 19:22:01 GMT -5
They look like a big cricket
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Post by gratefulknits on Jul 21, 2009 20:30:12 GMT -5
They look like a big cricket Yes, I think they are also called 'Jerusalem crickets'. I hate hate hate those bugs. I'm not afraid of them, but I once accidentally stepped on one and the squishing crunching sound is permanently embedded in my auditory memory. Yuck yuck yuckity yuck! |
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Post by tireddog on Jul 21, 2009 22:23:46 GMT -5
Tash, do you think the nasty, furry fly might have followed you home from here? Is there any chance larva hitched a ride on the wild side? Did you see them before your trip here?
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Post by TashGaia on Jul 21, 2009 22:33:51 GMT -5
I have seen horse flies here before, but not these ones... nothing that looked like these at all. I have lived here for 27 years and never seen these particular bugs before this summer.
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Post by jenm on Jul 22, 2009 16:10:17 GMT -5
Have you checked with your local vector control for help identifying them?
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Post by tireddog on Jul 22, 2009 16:25:18 GMT -5
We have them every year - they never miss a beat. The only horse they send into a wild bucking fit is Gary, but he is ultra-sensitive and very in touch with his feminine side. Are they still bothering Sargent Archer?
Do we officially call this creature Tabanus Punctifer? It sounds like To Your Anus, Lucifer. Don't anyone name a new horse Lucifer. Maybe if we all chant, "To your anus, Lucifer," these flies will fly south.
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YUM !!!!!!!!! ;D Another campfire discussion
