Well, here comes another summer in Florida. And for the most part, I’m pretty cool with that! Good weather, nice gardening, the works. But the issue is, outside of the sweltering heat, is that it’s also prime insect time. The nights, evenings, mornings, and even during the peak heat of the day are absolutely BUZZING. Excuse the pun. But anyway, today we’ll discuss some of the most voracious people biters in the state: the Florida biting flies.
What are the worst Florida biting flies?
Down here in the Sunshine State we have plenty of these savages. So let me start off with a kind of…overview of what these are. We’ll break down not who they are, but WHAT are Florida biting flies?
Now to be clear, we won’t be touching on what’s known as the botfly. These are flies that lay their eggs in a living host, of which we have several species in Florida. We’ll talk about them another time.
Biting flies aren’t like your typical house fly. They feed on blood, and attack humans and other animals as sources of food. Some of these flying parasites can even transfer disease through their feeding. Each one has its own habit and ecology, but there’s plenty of biting fly species to go around. And there’s quite a range in what they actually look like physically. With the largest being the intimidating horse fly, and the smallest being the microscopic midge. You can run into these guys almost anywhere.
The Yellow Biting Fly
When it comes to Florida biting flies, we’re not going to be saving the best for last here. I guess you could say we’re putting the worst first? Anyway, the yellow fly is probably the single most aggressive pest in the entire southeastern U.S. Adult yellow flies are usually under an inch long, with yellow bodies. They have large blue-green eyes, and their larvae have short hairs on a white body.
Their wings are clear, and they have black and yellow veins with prominent brown patches towards the middle and back of the wings. Their larvae are aquatic and are laid in bodies of water. And while they don’t readily enter homes, they frequent yards near water sources. Pools, ponds, and standing water are big attractors of this fly. Spring, late summer, and early fall and their worst times of the year. But, they also avoid direct sunlight- which is why you see them as a legion on cloudy days. Thankfully, they don’t really like being indoors. That’s why they often won’t follow you in once you flee inside.
The females of this species inflict a painful bite that can create a swollen, itchy welt that’s warm to the touch. This can lead to an infection if not properly cared for, and because of how voracious these flies are when they find a target, this can be a hard insect to stop.
Florida Biting Flies: The Heavyweight
Up next we have one of the most intimidating insects you’ll ever see in real life. That’s right, we’re talking about the horse fly. Horseflies vary in length from about an inch to an inch and a half long, and are grey or black in coloration. They have large, brilliant green eyes and short, stubby antennae. Their mouthparts are equipped with blade-like appendages. They use these to slash tissue and blood vessels to cause blood to flow from those wounds. The females of the species then use their sponge-like mouthparts for sucking up the blood that oozes out. The males only feed on pollen and nectar and have similar, but weaker, mouths.
The horsefly is pretty similar to the next fly on our list, the deer fly, and are both in the same family. But there are some pretty easy tells on keeping them separate in your head. For one, size. Horseflies are larger with a stout body and bulbous head, with very large and easily visible eyes. Their wings are also clear, lacking in the patterns you’ll see on many other species of biting fly.
Horsefly bites are extremely painful and are known to cause allergic reactions and, at times, infections if the bite isn’t treated well. However, they’re not implicated in disease transmission. But, they’re also very resistant to insect repellents, with some people even going as far as to say that they’re attracted to them.
What is a deer fly?
Next on the list of Florida biting flies is another common pest, the deer fly. Deer flies are about a fourth of an inch to a third of an inch long, with clear wings decorated with dark bands and patches. Their bodies are gray or light brown, and some species have yellow and black striping over their bodies- leading them to be confused with the yellow fly quite often. Unlike the horse fly mentioned above, the antennae of this pest are usually quite a bit longer than their head, which is also more proportionate to their bodies.
And like every other fly on this list so far, the deer fly feeds on the blood of animals and humans. They come out in swarms during the warm months, relying on color, movement, or CO2 output to find the next victim of their painful bite. Like the others, this pest rarely will enter a human home because they prefer moist, humid habitats. This includes places like marshes, woodland ponds, streams, and swamps. There are, realistically, very few practices you can participate into lower the number of these around your home.
This pest uses sharp mouthparts to inflict their bites in a similar manner to the other two above. They don’t usually have long-term effects but can cause allergic reactions in human beings. Also unlike the horsefly, the deer fly can carry diseases such as tularemia and can transfer this to humans through their bite. And, just like above, it’s primarily the females that consume blood- using this blood meal in their reproduction processes. Their bites are more similar to the yellow fly’s, with a raised, swelling bump that itches horrifically.
