Scientific name: Tabanus spp.

Size: 13mm (body length)

Where found: Inside vehicle while driving

Horse flies are large bloodfeeding insects from the family Tabanidae. Unlike mosquitoes, these flies inflict an immediately painful bite. Horse flies are typically encountered in outdoor situations- especially near livestock, and can be identified by their distinctive outward-extending antennae and their large eyes that are often brilliantly colored. The eyes of male horse flies are holoptic- meaning that they occupy most of the head and actually touch in the middle (the specimen in the picture is a female).