Ray's Flies - Tabanus atratus

The black horse fly (Tabanus atratus) has a lot going for it. First, its genus name ends in anus, always a good sign. Second, it is big. This one is pushing 3cm. Third, it has red feet. Fourth, it is readily identifiable as a regular fly. Regular flies are those flies that run-of-the-mill knuckleheads can easily identify to Order.

This is the first black horse fly documented at the CB. It, I should say, she, made a casual visit to the butterfly feeder. But she is a bloodsucker by nature. So she lost interest after getting her picture taken, departed, and has not been seen again.

Actually, since I do a lot of traveling in duck disguise, top height 19cm, I may not want many of these giant flies hanging around. One of them might get me. Plus, they pester the cows. Many a stampede, resulting in incalculable loss of beef on the hoof has resulted from lady horse fly bites.

Here is how that works. A cowboy is riding happily along singing merrily yet soothingly to his charges. But his chaps, Levis and undears are dragging low in the rear, pulled too low by saddle friction. Suddenly a rapacious lady horse fly alights on one of his upper butt cheeks, probably the right butt cheek, and takes a big larruping bite.

Yippee-yi-yay, the startled cowboy hollers. Away they all go. Those cows run so far and convert so much mass to energy that mass quantities of beef on the hoof are lost to posterity. The fact is, once the stampede eventually gets rounded up or corralled, those particular cows are only fit for potted meat. Yep. Those cows have to be mixed up with sheep and pig lips to be fit for human consumption.