horse fly

American  

noun

1. any bloodsucking, usually large fly of the family Tabanidae, especially of the genus Tabanus, a serious pest of horses, cattle, etc.

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Etymology

Origin of horse fly

1350–1400; Middle English horsfleeye

Example Sentences

Everything else is on Harris, including athlete’s feet and horse flies.

From Salon

In the meantime, people planning on being around horses or horse flies may want to consider wearing zebra print rather than a solid to avoid being bitten.

From New York Times

Researchers on Wednesday described experiments demonstrating that horse flies have a difficult time landing on zebras while easily landing on uniformly colored horses.

From Reuters

There is a wasp named after William Shakespeare, a horse fly named after Beyoncé and a lichen named after Dolly Parton.

From Seattle Times

Bad luck, like an avenging horse fly, seemed to chase him.

From New York Times