The most beautiful eyes that ever tore my skin

Horsefly. The light through her looks of blood so I’m reasonably certain it’s a female. Blood suckers in the insect world tend to be female. Not any built-in viciousness, just that a blood meal is ideal for those on the fast track to gravid.

Never seen one in an urban environment before. She was on a log in Thornton creek. Maybe the biggest horsefly I’ve ever seen. Certainly glad she was already full.

The thing I remember the most about them when getting bit every 10 minutes on the south fork of the Snake in Idaho—maybe the most beautiful water I’ve seen or tasted—was that no matter how hard you hit one, you cannot kill it. They just bounce right off, maybe stunned at best. Amazingly tough animals. To kill one the best plan is slap it against your skin and just rub it like crazy till it comes apart. Good way to get an infection though so maybe that’s not the best advice.

Unlike most blood feeders who have puncturing mouth parts, their bite is actually a shearing. And that explains why it hurts so damn much.