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Mundoo
Lv 6
Mundoo asked in Science & MathematicsZoology · 1 decade ago

How do March flies bite?

In Australia we have large flies that seem to appear for a short time around March and are commonly referred to as March flies.

When they land on you they bite,

How do they bite?

Is it an actual bite or barbs stuck into you or an irritant or what?

3 Answers

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  • kanya
    Lv 5
    1 decade ago
    Favourite answer

    March flies (Tabanids) have two large prominent eyes and are much larger and robust than stable flies; they have a shorter life than stable flies and an adult lives only 3-4 weeks. Although they are a major pest of livestock, several species will bite people. It is only the females that seek blood meals; the males feed on nectar and plant juices. Female tabanids are armed with two large blade-like mouthparts, that are used to pierce and slash skin. This inflicts a painful wound and produces a large puncture site that will continue to ooze blood long after the mouthparts are extracted. As the blood flows, the flies lap the blood to engorgement, unless disturbed. It has been estimated that some animals can loose up to 300ml of blood a day due to attack by these flies, resulting in serious blood loss. Adult tabanids are cosmopolitan but are more abundant in moist forests and woodlands. After mating, the females disperse, travelling many kilometres in search of blood meals. Tabanids are pests throughout summer and are a continual nuisance at outdoor activities, particularly near water.

    http://medent.usyd.edu.au/fact/biting%20flies.htm

  • jarod
    Lv 4
    4 years ago

    March Fly Bite

  • Anonymous
    4 years ago

    I place the liquid bait fly traps around to entice flies faraway from my barn. those kill 1000's of them and are very valuable to shrink populations. you ought to drain them and replace the liquid bait periodically. I run followers in the shield 24/7 besides, the two ceiling and wall followers, and an commercial floor fan in the time of the gate between the barn and shield, which keeps the bugs out. I save the manure wiped sparkling out of the shield, and feed hay in there 24/7. The water trough is likewise in there, so the horses can stay in there as long as they pick. i take advantage of bear fly spray by utilising Farnam that's oil based and would not sweat off, and that i unfold it on with a mitt this is saved in a closed coffee can and reused. The product builds up on the hair coat and that i merely spray the mitt as necessary till now going over them on a daily basis with it. The stuff is the merely right i've got ever used. in addition they positioned on Cashel Crusader long nostril fly mask with ears. in case you won't be in a position to locate bear, then see in case you will locate the different oil based product, which would be more advantageous to the water based ones. i've got used exceedingly plenty them everywhere in the years.

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