It was a lockdown vet visit, which meant my dog was inside getting biscuits and a blood test while I waited outside with the rest of the politely-masked queue. Then I noticed people looking at my car. They would walk over, stare, take out their phone, and snap a photo. Then they would go back to their car, and another person would take their turn.
I looked at the window, and there it was. Bugzilla.
Murder hornet? Killer bee?
I waited my turn, took my own photo, and asked Google Lens. Turns out it’s an overachieving Tabanus Sudeticus, Dark Giant Horsefly. According to Wikipedia, it’s the heaviest fly in Europe, rarely seen in Scotland, and normally tops out at about 25mm (about an inch). And, as it prefers a liquid diet, it bites. Lots. Luckily, it seems to prefer equine or bovine blood, so I was safe and my little dog avoided further bloodletting.
But just in case, I got back into the car and closed all the windows.
Mary Smith said:
Eeek! The horseflies we have here in Scotland are quite big, and nasty, enough without incomers arriving to bite us.
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barbtaub said:
[Nodding VERY fervently]
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quiall said:
Never underestimate the public’s ability to find the bizarre, the creepy or the hilarious on someone else. (Great shot!)
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insearchofitall said:
They must be hard pressed for entertainment with the lockdown to make a horse fly a point of interest.;) It would not have continued to live had I been there. Bees get to live, flies; never. I think lockdown is getting to me as well. I have a murderous mind now.
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Cathy said:
Nasty little beastie 😧
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alisonewilliams said:
We’ve just had a wasps’ nest removed from the loft which was apparently the biggest one the pest control man has seen this year! And one of the dogs got her nose stung by a bee on Friday evening, her face swelled up and we had to make an emergency trip to the vet. So I’m a bit fed up with bugs to say the least!
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Darlene said:
That’s one big ass horse fly!!
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beth said:
they can be monsters, glad you locked yourself down!
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Lynette d'Arty-Cross said:
Yikes! Horsefly bites are the worst. And that one is a mutant!
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TanGental said:
bloody Nora, that’s got some meanness about it; is this what La Sturgeon was worried might cross the border? If it sucks the blood of a Scot, blame the English; a whole culture has been based on that premise (actually, I think that also applies to the Welsh, Irish, French, Australians, Canadians, Kiwis, most Caribbean Islands, large chucks of south east Asia….)
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Jennie said:
My heart is pounding…!
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marysue7 said:
Oh my ! I have seen horse flies but never that big.
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JT Twissel said:
I’ve been bit by a horsefly – it was terrible.
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