Horse Fly Bite

If one hates blood suckers, then the horsefly is probably high up there on your hate list. The horsefly bite is quite unique and painful owing to the structure of their mouth and skin puncturing method. These insect feeds on human and large mammals such as cats, dogs and cattle.
The bite of a horse fly is quite atrocious to the extent that cattle will often get injured trying to get way for these flies. Even on large animals, the bite still bruises the skin. This bruising often gets infected as it takes longer to heal than other insect bites. For the most part a horsefly bite on a human being is not fatal, but the wound it inflicts is prone to bacterial infection.
Appearance of a horse fly
They are fairly large in size with massive compound eyes. The coloring on their body generally include black under belly and a striped chest.
Male horseflies are not to be feared as they do not suck blood for food. They are not able to as they have not been endowed with blood sucking apparatus on their mouths. Their female counterpart however is blood thirsty and will feed on blood.
Biologically, the female horse fly is wired to drink blood in order to sustain her egg production. For such a small body weight, she does consume a considerable amount of blood. A female horse fly will need about 0.5ml for her reproduction purposes. The special adaptation of the female horsefly is the ability to releases substances that stop blood clotting at the point of skin puncture. This allows them to drink their fill without blood clotting. They can drink as much as 200 milligrams in a matter of minutes.
Are horse fly venomous
Fortunately, horse flies are not venomous and do not spread disease to animals or human beings except for horses. These flies are carriers of equine infectious anemia, commonly known as swamp fever. When they bite a horse, there is a chance that the horsefly might transmit the disease. The disease often times is fatal to horses. The female horsefly is equipped with
The horsefly uses a scissor-like motion to cut the skin in order to draw blood as opposed to puncturing a hole. It is equipped with hooks that it will then use to attach itself to the wound as it sucks blood. The bite is painfully and will normally become raised and red. Because of the cutting action, the wound is larger and take longer to heal.
Conclusion
Unless the wound gets infected there is rarely a need to see a doctor. However, if the bite does get infected then it prudent to seek medical attention. The doctor will often recommend antibiotics to fight the infection. In the meantime, as a way of easing the discomfort before seeing the doctor one can clean the bite area with warm clean water and soap using cotton wool . A cold compress on the wound for 10 minutes will also help.