Dill speaks with BDN about deer flies, horse flies
The Bangor Daily News interviewed Jim Dill, a pest management specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, for the article, “Why deer flies and horse flies are such dreaded summer pests.” “Their mouthparts are described as knife-like or scissor-like,” Dill said. “They basically slash their way in [to your skin]. They have a saliva that acts as an anticoagulant. And when you start bleeding from the wound, they lap it up.” Dill is working on a project that involves capturing and identifying different deer flies and horse flies throughout Maine, according to the article. “Deer fly” and “horse fly” are common names used to describe hundreds of species in the Tabanidae family, the article states. “Off the top of my head, I don’t know how many different species there are in Maine,” Dill said. “But there’s a lot, and some of them are kind of regional. For example, down on the coast, you hear of the ‘greenheads’ on the beaches.” One of the species Dill found had yellow and black stripes, similar to yellowjackets. Another species is so big — about 1.5 inches long — that Mainers often refer to it as a “moose fly,” the BDN reported. “One under each arm would carry you away,” Dill joked. Maine Public carried the BDN report.