Table of contents:
- Biting flies - who are they?
- Annoying Stinger Fly
- Coastal Inhabitants
- The danger posed by gadflies
- Tsetse fly
Video: Biting flies - who are they? Why do flies bite people and animals?
2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:41
The closer autumn, the more painfully the flies bite. Sometimes it seems that these are not tiny insects, but a real tiger has bitten your leg. Especially when you notice the quirky bully too late and give him time to prepare a full-fledged “strike”. But why do flies bite? Is it really so pleasant for them to torture innocent people? Or is there another, more significant reason?
Biting flies - who are they?
The truth is that not all types of flies are capable of harming humans. Moreover, the vast majority of these insects are completely harmless, except for the fact that they spoil food by laying their eggs in it. Otherwise, they only buzz overhead, thus acting on the nerves.
Biting flies are a completely different matter. These creatures, although similar in appearance to their counterparts, are still very different from them in their habits. In particular, those that like to consume the blood of other creatures. Therefore, it will be quite logical to talk about which flies bite the most and howdistinguish them from peaceful insects.
Annoying Stinger Fly
A more common name for this species is the autumn stinger. A similar name is due to the fact that this insect moves into people's homes only with the arrival of autumn cold. The reason for this behavior is quite simple: as soon as the temperature drops below 8 degrees, the fly will die. Therefore, she climbs into warm rooms in order to save herself from the chill of the night.
Outwardly, the Stinger fly is very similar to its harmless relatives, only slightly larger than them. So, an adult has a body length of 5-7 mm. At the same time, the fly itself is gray: there are several dark spots on its belly, and four horizontal stripes of the same color go along the chest.
This fly bites because it needs blood. For her, this is an excellent source of energy, moreover, easily accessible. A razor-sharp proboscis helps her to pierce the flesh, which easily cuts through both human and animal epidermis.
Moreover, these biting flies inject into the wounds of their victims a special enzyme that stops blood clotting. It is he who causes a strong burning sensation, which increases as the toxin spreads through the blood. In addition, such a solution can cause an allergic reaction, which is fraught with high fever and an attack of nausea.
Coastal Inhabitants
Giddfly is one of the varieties of flies that live mainly near water bodies and clusters of cattlelivestock. Such a sonorous name of the species came from the fact that during the bite the insect becomes defenseless, as if an invisible veil covers its eyes.
To start with, these biting flies are very similar to mosquitoes. That is, only females drink blood, since it is needed to conceive offspring. As for the males, they are vegetarians and feed on plant nectar. Therefore, you need to be afraid only of "girls", who also have a very stubborn character.
The appearance of the horsefly largely depends on its subspecies. So, the length of his body can vary from a few millimeters to two centimeters. For example, bullfly grows up to 2.5 cm, which is why its bites are extremely painful. As for the color, this species is easily recognizable by the red-yellow horizontal stripes that encircle the abdomen of the insect.
The danger posed by gadflies
Gadfly is another type of flies dangerous to humans. These insects live mainly near the pastures of animals, since they are their main goal. Unlike their biting relatives, they do not feed on the blood of other creatures. Moreover, scientists have recently discovered that adults do not need food at all. They are quite satisfied with the supplies that they acquired during their larval stage.
However, a legitimate question arises: why do they bite animals then? The fact is that during the bite, they lay their eggs under the skin of the victim, thereby providing them with an excellent source of food. Let's be frank that after the appearance of larvae from eggs, the poor animal experiences terrible pain, since they literallysense of eating 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 the partial removal of the infected area of \u200b\u200bflesh.
Tsetse fly
The most dangerous of all biting flies, tsetse, lives in Central Africa. 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 those infected die, as this disease is practically untreatable, especially in the later stages.
At the same time, the tsetse fly itself calmly tolerates the impact of the infectious agent. As for the reasons, this insect feeds on blood. At the same time, it does not matter to him at all whether she is human or animal, the main thing is that she should be enough. Fortunately, modern medicine every year is getting closer and closer to creating a vaccine that can permanently protect the human immune system from this deadly virus.
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