The Life of a Horse Fly

A lot of people tend to confuse a horse fly with a deer fly since they have so much resemblance. Their larval stage also happens to take place in a similar environment. One very obvious way to differentiate them is that a horse fly processes darker wings and they are larger in size than the deer fly.

Both females however  get its food from other mammals which include humans. Mammals usually experience a horse fly sucking their blood. Prior to the reproduction, female horse flies need to have blood meals at least once with their larval stage lasting as much as three years. One must be very careful not to confuse horse flies with deer flies. 

The Life of a Horse fly

 

 

Horse Fly Life Cycle

 

From the Purdue University 

Eggs

The number of eggs that a female horse fly can lay is anywhere between 25 and 1000. This means that so much space is usually required to lay this large number of eggs. To tackle this issue, horse flies usually lay their eggs in tiers. You will notice that horse flies eggs usually come in darker colors with a shape that looks like a spindle. Plants which usually hangover water are the best egg laying spots. Between 5 and 12 days, the eggs get hatched. 

Larvae

Similar to the larval stage of a deerfly, horseflies usually experience theirs in wetlands such as mud. The time interval is between one and three years. Larvae will usually be released from eggs and will get burrowed into the soil. Whenever larvae drop in water, it is usually transported all the way to dry land. Organic debris, as well as insects and earthworms, mostly form the food for horse fly larvae. Once it is spring, the larvae will reach maturity stage and progress to its pupal stage. 

The pupal stage

It is on dry soil that a horse fly attempting to attain full maturity enters its pupal stage. Another name for the pupal stage is the cocoon stage. Usually influenced by the species as well as the environment, this stage usually takes place between 6 and 12 days. 

Reaching adulthood

Once the pupal stage reaches its completion, an adult horse fly emerges. It is mostly around late-summer periods that this stage takes place. An adult horse fly has the ability to fly strongly and begins to search for food immediately. At the same time, its search for a mate begins. Females usually go on to look for blood meals but the male species happen to be drawn towards nectar as well as plant juices.

Protection from horseflies

You will mostly find horse flies active when it is summer and the weather is hot. During this period, horseflies tend to attack not only horses but humans. Bites from horse flies are usually dangerous and your horses stand a huge risk. This means that you must take steps to offer them protection by using a wide range of horse fly control products such as Happy horse fly spray, horse fly repellent, etc.