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ID of biter please: |
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Robert V Senior Member Joined: 06 Aug 2004 No. of posts: 717  View other posts by Robert V |
Posted: 09 Jul 2006 Hi all, can anyone identify this fly.
The reason I ask is that if you come across one, you may wish to avoid it as it packs a mighty wallop. One like this gave me a painful bite. Cheers Robert RobV |
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arvensis Senior Member Joined: 15 Mar 2006 No. of posts: 445 View other posts by arvensis |
Posted: 13 Jul 2006 Rob, The closest I can get is Tachina Fera. Mark Hampshire Amphibian and Reptile Group. |
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Matt Member Joined: 09 Feb 2006 No. of posts: 23 View other posts by Matt |
Posted: 14 Jul 2006 Hi Robert Whatever bit you, it wasn't this. This is the parasitic fly Tachina fera. None of the Tachs are biters, they all have typical housefly type 'sponge on a stick' mothparts and none of them can pierce skin. If you want more info on Tachinids have a look at the National Recording Scheme website we run at http://tachinidae.org.uk/site I would suspect what actually bit you would be either a deerfly (Chrysops) or a horsefly/cleg (Heamatopota). Deerflies are head & neck biters and you can usually hear & see these as they circle about looking for a landing spot. Clegs tend to bite on the legs or lower body. They fly upwing to their prey and are very quiet, its about 50/50 whether I hear them coming or spot them after they land on me. Both deerflies & clegs can give a painful bite, though most often you only feel it after the fly has had lunch and left. Both sorts have been on the wing for a month or so now, I was out doing a reptile survey in long grass recently and picked up several cleg bites on my hands and elbows. All that stopping to lift mats gives them a chance to land on you. Regards Matt BRAG - Berkshire Reptile & Amphibian Group |
- ID of biter please |
