Stable Fly

Also known as Barn Fly, Biting House Fly, Dog Fly, Power Mower Fly

Superficially resembling the common house fly, the stable fly is readily distinguished by its rigid, bayonet-like proboscis projecting forward from beneath the head. Both sexes require multiple mammalian blood meals each day, targeting the lower legs of livestock and humans with piercing bites that cause frantic stomping and stress. Females deposit clutches of eggs within fermenting mixtures of plant matter and animal manure, especially decaying straw bedding and rotting grass piles.