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BITING FLIES 379 
Horseflies, or ‘‘ Gadflies’ (Tabanide) 
Horses and cattle, and often other animals as well, are persecuted 
by various species of large, two-winged flies, which alight on the head, 
neck, back, or flanks, and torment the animals by piercing the skin and 
sucking the blood. The pests are capable of causing noticeable loss of 
flesh, not to mention the unpleasant effects on the animal’s disposition. 
These flies have no connection with the bots or grubs found in the 
stomach of the horse or under the skin of the back of cattle. Their 
sole injury is that caused by their bites. Their young live in pools 
or running streams, and their eggs are laid on leaves or twigs over- 
hanging the water. 
Various oils may be applied to the animals, to drive away the flies. 
One method is to spray them with kerosene emulsion, diluting the 
stock with 10 parts of water. 
The Horn-fly (Lyperosia irritans Linn., formerly Hematobia serrata) 
The horn-fly is a biting insect about the size of a common house fly 
but more slender, and injures cattle by swarming on them in large 
numbers, biting and annoying 
them severely. The fly gets its 
name from its habit of resting 
in clusters around the base of 
the horns, where it cannot be 
dislodged by its host. It does 
not feed at this point particu- 
larly, but rather on the flanks, 
belly, and wherever opportunity 
offers. Fic. 606.— The Horn-fly. Enlarged and 
There are several generations natural size. Original. 
annually. The larva is a small maggot, and lives in moist, fresh dung. 
If all dung is collected frequently and spread out to dry, the maggots 
will be killed. Cattle may be protected by repellents, among which 
fish oil or train oil is the best. Kerosene emulsion, applied with a 
spray pump, will kill such flies as it hits, and will give protection for 
two or three days. 
