(Reprinted from the July 20, 2001 Suburban News)
As I walked my dog early in the morning, I’ve been wearing a net over my head to keep the mosquitoes and other flying pests away. Then for a few days this month it was peaceful and I could enjoy our morning stroll; but then out of nowhere the deer fly descended.
The deer fly swarms around your head, even tries to get into your hair, your ears and occasionally lands on your arms and takes a quick bite.
I used to especially hate them the many years I directed Scout camps: When wearing shorts and long stockings, the deer flies would land on the stockings and take a bit of meat out of my leg right through those stockings.
A deer fly has a general outline that is triangular. This gives them another of their names, “square tail flies.” They are generally rather beautiful as they are brightly golden, greenish, or coppery with wings with smoky bands. They are a nuisance to horses and deer as they buzz around the animal’s head and attack their ears.
When they get into the house they land upside down and walk on the ceiling. It’s remarkable that the fly sticks there, and even walks about without falling off. The reason he can do this is because flies have two claws on each foot and between them is a bladder-like structure covered with tiny hairs. Each hair secretes a glue that make the bladder wet and sticky. The fly has six feet. When it walks it picks up two legs on one side and one on the other, always leaving three feet holding on.
Luckily, a fly only has a short life. It will only live from nineteen days to a month. One family member, the mayfly, lives less than a day.
It’s hard to shorten their lives with a quick whack as their eyes let them have almost 360-degree vision; they can detect your hand coming at them from behind, in front and from above.
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