ttORSE FLIES. 



265 



forests, and well-wooded places. They are powerful insects, with a 

 strong' sharp beak; settling- on the skin, they pierce it and suck out 

 the blood. 



Many species are found upon cattle, horses and other animals, and these 



bite man freely. 

 They principally 

 breed in forests. 

 The larva of one 

 species has been 

 found in India 

 in small pools in 

 the forests and 

 the others prob- 

 FiG. 319. ably have similar 



Larva of Gad-Fly, Nongpok, Assam. {Magnified twice.) habits. 



Horse Flies. 



A family of peculiar flies, much flattened, which settle on horses, 



cattle, dogs, etc., and 

 live on their blood. 

 They are characteristic 

 in appearance, and 

 usually marked in brown 

 and yellow. They can 

 be found on almost any 

 domestic animal and on 

 birds. 



Their life-history is 

 peculiar, in that the larva 

 does not leave the body 

 of the parent until full 

 grown and is produced 

 ready to pupate, which 

 it does at once. The fly 

 therefore appears to lay 

 a pupa, from which the 

 new fly very soon comes. 

 This is a most striking 

 Fig. 320. adaptation to parasitic 



The Morse Fly. {Maguijied.) life as there is no larval 



