Biting flies - who are they? Why do flies bite people and animals?

The nearer the autumn, the more bitten the flies. Sometimes it seems that these are not tiny insects, but a real tiger grabbed your leg. Especially when you notice too late a dodgy hooligan and give him time to prepare a full-fledged "blow". But why do flies bite? Are they so happy to torment innocent people? Or is there another, more significant reason?

Biting flies - who are they?

The truth is that not all kinds of flies can harm a person. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of these insects are completely innocuous, except for the fact that they spoil food by laying eggs in it. In the rest they just buzz over their heads, thus acting on their nerves.

It's quite another thing - biting flies. These creatures, though similar to their fellow humans, still differ greatly from them in their habits. In particular, by the fact that they like to use the blood of other beings. Therefore it will be quite logical to talk about what flies bite the hardest and how to distinguish them from peace-loving insects.

An importunate fly flies

The more familiar name for this species is the autumn calf. This name is due to the fact that this insect moves to people's homes only with the arrival of autumn colds. The reason for this behavior is quite simple: it's worth the temperature to drop below 8 degrees, and the fly will die. Therefore, she climbs into warm rooms, in order to save herself from the night coolness.

Outwardly the fly-fly is very similar to its harmless kindred, only slightly surpasses them in size. Thus, an adult has a body length of 5-7 mm. In this case, the fly itself is gray: on its belly there are several dark spots, and along the chest there are four horizontal bands of the same color.

This fly bites because it needs blood. For her, this is an excellent source of energy, and easily accessible. To penetrate the flesh helps her sharp, like a razor, proboscis, which easily cuts both human and animal epidermis.

And these biting flies inject a special enzyme into the wounds of their victims, which stops the blood clotting. It is he who causes severe burning, which increases as the toxin spreads through the blood. In addition, such a solution can cause an allergic reaction, which is fraught with fever and a fit of nausea.

Inhabitants of coastal regions

Sledpen - this is one of the varieties of flies that live mainly near water bodies and congestion of cattle. Such a sonorous name of the species went because when an insect bites the insect becomes defenseless, as if his eyes cover an invisible veil.

It should start with the fact that these biting flies are very similar to mosquitoes. That is, only females drink blood, as it is necessary for conception of offspring. As for males, they are vegetarians and feed on plant nectar. Therefore, only "girls" need to be afraid, which, moreover, are very harsh.

Appearance of the horsefly largely depends on its subspecies. So, the length of his body can range from a few millimeters to two centimeters. For example, the bobber's flock grows to 2.5 cm, which is why its bites are extremely painful. As for color, this species is easy to recognize by the red-yellow horizontal strips that encircle the abdomen of the insect.

The Dangers of Gadgets

Gadfly is another kind of flies dangerous to humans. These insects live mainly near the pastures of animals, as they are their main goal. Unlike their biting congeners, they do not feed on the blood of other creatures. Moreover, recently scientists have discovered that adults do not need food at all. They are quite enough of those stocks that they acquired while staying on the stage of the larva.

However, a completely justified question arises: why do they bite animals then? The fact is that during the bite they put their eggs under the skin of the victim, thus giving them an excellent source of food. Let's say frankly that after the appearance of larvae from eggs, the poor animal experiences terrible pain, as those literally eat his body from the inside.

But the main danger is that gadflies can lay their eggs on human skin. Let this happen rarely, but the consequences of this accident are extremely sad. After all, the only reliable way to get rid of the larvae is to partially remove the infected area of the flesh.

Tsetse fly

Central Africa is home to the most dangerous of all biting flies - tsetse. Science knows that this insect is a carrier of sleeping sickness, which affects about 10 thousand people a year. It should be noted that most of the infected die, as this disease is almost not treatable, especially in later stages.

In this case, the tsetse fly itself easily tolerates the effect of the causative agent of the infection. As for the reasons, this insect feeds on blood. At the same time, it does not matter to him whether it is human or animal, the main thing is that it should be enough. The benefit of modern medicine every year is getting closer and closer to creating a vaccine that can forever protect the human immune system from this deadly virus.