Fly of some sort
Found this fellow in my backyard in residential Victoria BC. Was at least 2 to 2.5cm long. I’ve never seen one of these before but suspect it’s some sort of horsefly. Great site by the way.
Terry
Hi Terry,
You are correct. This is the Western Black Horse Fly, Tabanus punctifer. Females bite and drink blood from large mammals including man. Males, are identified by the eyes which appear to be joined at the top of the head. We turned to Eric Eaton for substantiation. Here is his response: “What a magnificent image! Wow. Would love to see this posted to BugGuide. It is a western horese fly, and a female. Males have holoptic eyes (essentially contiguous over the top of the head). Really fresh specimen. Thanks for sharing this one. Eric”
Are western black flies dangerous. Should I kill them or let them be? I saw one today on a weed and would not leave even when I bent the leaf down so I could get a better look at it. I left it alone but I have dogs and cats. Are they harmful to them ?