Really, an image of a horsefly? That sentence fragment was part of an internal dialogue that I had with myself when considering whether to post this image. I know that most people find flies to be fairly disgusting. However, I was really taken with the details that I managed to capture when this enormous horsefly—it looked to be about 2 inches (50 mm) in length—perched in front of me earlier this week as I was resting alongside a rocky creek.
The fly’s eyes seem to have multiple colors and its body has several wonderful patterns. It is not all beauty, though, and I find those sharp points protruding from the face to be menacing, an impression enhanced by the enlarged shadow that cast by the fly.
I have to admit that I was fascinated by this giant horsefly and that fascination prompted me to post the photo despite my initial inhibitions. What do you think?
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
It looks beautiful. When I think of horseflies I think of standing out in the lake in summer with a big one buzzing round and round and round unless I managed to swat it down into the water. Then it would soon be replaced by another. 😆
They can be very persistent. Fortunately this one did not bother us at all. Earlier in the summer I was pestered a whole lot more by smaller deer flies that would occasionally administer a painful bite.
What I think…Benjamin will love this photo! Thus far he has never seen a bug he doesn’t like! He will scrutinize the enlarged photo and make his pronouncement based on the details that he finds. Sadly, for me, that will not happen until his return next weekend as he begins his higher education in kindergarten this coming week. I have promised him to “ark” (archive) your posts and this shall be amongst them! As for myself, a photo is far better than the reality! Thank-you, Mr. Mike!
Great capture, Mike. Interestingly, like mosquitoes, only the females bite. But oy, what a bite!
Thanks, Eliza. You are talking about horseflies and not humans, right? 🙂
Hehe! 😉
its giant all right
good shot
Thanks. It’s really hard to get a sense of scale in the image, but at the moment when I saw the fly, it seemed to be enormous.
We have had a few of these in our garage lately. Scary! I am behind on blog reading, but I heard this on Classical Radio this week and my first thought was of you trying to capture dragonfly images. This image clinched the idea to send this to you!