Yellow fly of the Dismal Swamp
The yellow fly of the Dismal Swamp is a yellow horse fly with blue-green eyes striped with purple. It flies almost silently, so people often notice it only when it bites. It lives near water and woods in warm places.
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Fun facts
It has been called the most aggressive fly in Florida.
It likes to hide in Spanish moss hanging from trees.
It bites most in summer and early autumn, in the late afternoon and on cloudy days.
In Belize people call it the doctor fly.
Its larvae are thin white grubs covered in fine yellow fuzz.
Most asked questions about Yellow fly of the Dismal Swamp
?Do yellow flies bite?
Yes. The females bite people to get blood, and the bites hurt and itch.
?How can you keep yellow flies away?
Insect spray helps, but when there are many of them, long sleeves, gloves and a head net work best.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Diachlorus ferrugatus
- Named by
- Fabricius, 1805
- Group
- Flies and mosquitoes
- Family
- Tabanidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Diptera > Tabanidae
- Lives on
- North America
- Also known as
- Yellow fly, Doctor fly
Where the facts come from
- Diachlorus ferrugatus (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Judy Gallagher. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
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