Horsefly

I'm not particularly fond of Horseflies.  They luckily seem to prefer other people to bite as I have severe reactions to them. The last couple of bites sent me straight to A&E. One of the problems is you never feel them landing on your skin, or whilst they inflict a nasty bite. It's only afterwards that you start swelling, aching and itching. In my case the swelling became dangerous as I was bitten on the neck, the swelling was atrocious and causing  problems with my breathing.

This is a Band-eyed brown horsefly, Tabanus bromius. The patterns in their eyes make them easy to identify.  I only seem to find this species around here to photograph and nobody wants to capture them for me. I wonder why! 

The colours in their eyes disappear very soon after they die so you have to catch them quick. I swatted this one and stuck it on a pin for it's portrait.  It's definitely dead now! 

Such beauty in a beast!