Aiton’s Encyclopedia
A Practical Reference Library in Five Volumes — keyed from the public-domain original
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Horsefly

a stout, annoying fly of mid-summer. The male contents himself with sweet sap and the nectar of flowers; but the female adds the blood of man and beast to her diet whenever possible. These scourges can equal the speed of the swiftest horse without the slightest effort. There are a hundred species of the black horsefly and half as many of the sort with banded wings. See Gadfly

Horsefly
Volume III · Aiton’s Encyclopedia