THE HORSE-FLY. 



641 



On Woodcut LXXVII. Fig. 1 is shown the insect which has 

 been accepted as the type of its family. This is the too fami- 

 liar Horse-fly (Hijjjjohosca equina). 



This very plentiful and very unpleasant insect is an absolute 

 pest to those who have to deal with spirited horses, especially 

 when passing through woods. The Flies settle in numbers on 



LXXVII 



1. Hippobosca equina. 2. Stenopteryx hirundinis. a. Hippobosca equina, antenna. 



6. Do., maxilla. c Do., fore-leg. d. Stenopteryx hirundinis, fore-leg. e. Do., lip and 



tongue. /. Do., anteuna. 



the animal, and cling so tightly with their hooked claws that 

 they cannot be shaken off by any efforts of the aggrieved 

 quadruped. They cluster round its eyes, get behind its ears, 

 under the belly, and, if they can, creep under the tail. All 

 the angry lashings of that organ do not in the least affect their 

 flat and tough bodies, and the repeated pricks of their sharp 

 beaks sometimes irritate a sensitive horse to such a degree that 

 it runs away, in the vain hope of escaping its persecutors. 



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