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Haematobia irritans, the horn fly, is a small fly (about half the size of a common housefly). It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is of the genus Haematobia which is the European genus of bloodsucking flies.
The horn fly is a small blood-feeder found in constant association with grazing cattle and in smaller numbers on drylot or indoor cattle. They are ferocious and painful biters and more than 400 per animal will affect the health and productivity of cattle.
The horn fly, Haematobia irritans irritans (Linnaeus), is one of the most economically important pests of cattle worldwide. It is an obligate blood-feeding ectoparasite, feeding almost exclusively on cattle.
Horn flies can be easily identified by their dark color, size (~3–6 mm long, approximately half the size of a stable fly), and bayonet-like proboscis that protrudes forward from the head. Clustering in the hundreds around the base of the horns of cattle is typical.
horn fly, (Haematobia irritans), insect of the family Muscidae (order Diptera) and a serious cattle pest. Adult horn flies cluster at the base of horns and on the neck and rump of cattle and suck blood. Their attacks cause loss of weight and milk production in affected cattle.
With summer grazing season almost here, now is the time to prepare a horn fly management plan. Developing an effective plan requires some knowledge about the fly’s habits, life cycle, economic impact, and available control strategies.
Common Name: Horn fly. Scientific Name: Haematobia irritans (Linnaeus) Order: Diptera. Description: Adults are about half the size of houseflies (about 3/16 inch long) and are gray-black.
Horn flies are small (3/16 inch long), dark gray flies that feed on cattle and occasionally horses. Both sexes are blood feeders, taking 20 or more blood meals each day with their stiff needle-like mouthparts. Irritations from the bites annoy animals and occasionally, the wounds may become infected.
The horn fly (Fig. 1) is considered one of the most important pests of pasture cattle. These flies spend most of their adult life on the body of their cattle host. Horn flies have long bayonet-type mouthparts called a proboscis, which contain rasping teeth used to tear through the skin of cattle causing blood to pool at the skin surface.
Adult horn fly. Credit: J. F. Butler, University of Florida. Horn fly damage is caused by blood feeding. The flies feed frequently and exclusively on blood, piercing the skin of cattle with their proboscis and taking around 20 small blood meals each day.