Warble fly

Irish Beef

patsy_mccabe wrote: »

Found the sucker cows and calves running around this morning with tails up. Standing in the middle of them and saw a dark brown fly, about an inch long landing on a cows back. Cow took no notice for about 3 secs and then took off running. Fly took off again and landed on another, again no notice for about 3 secs and then off running.

So they are not running from the sound, but from the biting. Panic then sets in with the rest of them. Would love to know what fly it was. Must bring the camera phone more often.

Reckon it was a Dark Giant Horsefly from a quick google research.

Sounds a bit like the fly's I was seeing landing on the cattle couple weeks back, big fly about the size of a bee, wasn't a bee do, bees don't go around landing on cattle, when he landed he would stay there for a while then fly off to another bollock. mostly black with some yellow stripes, don't seem to be around anymore. took a photo of it on my phone, not the greatest do, if anybody can tell me how to attach it I will put it up. what part of country are you in Patsy?

patsy_mccabe

East Clare.

Water John

See the neighbours heifers running around this evening, a few with tails up.
Must be one of the flies described, but not mad like they would have been with a warble.

Irish Beef

Markcheese wrote: »

The warble fly doesnt bite at all , and its the start of the summer when they hatch and lay ,? Yeah ?,do they even buzz ?? ...
Has a buzzing horsefly (that bites like crazy) always been mixed up with a warble fly that lays microscopic eggs, that hatch into horrible skin boring maggots... ( ie . Cattle going mad from horsefly bites,when you check the skin you found painful warbles ,put the two together...)

Its established at this stage that the warble fly doesn't bit or sting the cattle, so why are they afraid of them, how are the cattle to know its laying dozen's in tiny eggs on them which will eventually burrow into their hide and travel until they reach their backs. Possibly at the same time of year there was also giant horsefly who were biting and that's what the cattle were running from. Anyone know if the giant dark horsefly buzz's, because the fly I saw made so sound and didn't seem to bit at all.

Capercaillie

Irish Beef wrote: »

Its established at this stage that the warble fly doesn't bit or sting the cattle, so why are they afraid of them, how are the cattle to know its laying dozen's in tiny eggs on them which will eventually burrow into their hide and travel until they reach their backs. Possibly at the same time of year there was also giant horsefly who were biting and that's what the cattle were running from. Anyone know if the giant dark horsefly buzz's, because the fly I saw made so sound and didn't seem to bit at all.

Sheep bot fly (Oestrus ovis). The female fly injects larvae up the nostrils of sheep. If sheep hear the fly they will stick their noses in ground. Even if they have never heard the fly,they will illict this behaviour. Instinctive behaviour genetically coded in the DNA of the sheep.

Irish Beef

Here's a picture of that fly I took on my phone, not great quality, He doesn't look the biggest there, but he's nearly as big as a bumble bee. I know there gone for this year but ill be keeping a look out early summer next year and also checking for lumps on cows backs during the spring.