Fewer in number, but at least as high on the aggravation scale,
horseflies are a persistent (and painful) adversary.
Everyone remembers the horsefly that chased them for kilometres
as they paddled along, stopping only when it was finished
biting, or was squashed flat by a lucky 'swat.'
Thinking of trying to outrun them? Don't bother ...
horseflies have been clocked in experiments at speeds faster
than 100 km per hour.
Horseflies appear to be attracted visually, especially by bright
or glittering surfaces. This may explain why they always
appear to do their dirty work when finish our swim and sit on
the rocks, our bodies still covered in a reflective film of
water.
Their bite is very painful - they literally tear a chunk of meat
from our skins. However, there is little in life as
satisfying as those times that we slap at them and by some small
miracle actually manage to hit them, casting their flattened
bodies into the lake as we paddle along.
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