Question for those just back/FL Residents-Love Bugs and Yellow Flies

[Golf4food]

Love Bugs have been very sparse this year both in NE FL where we live and from what we saw in mid-May in Orlando. Very few that we saw. I can remember years when they were everywhere all the time during May and September but lately they've been virtually non-existent.

Yellow flies I did see quite a bit in May. April-to-June is peak Yellow fly biting season.

For those not familiar you can check this link to the University of Florida Entomology department website (which is a great resource for all things bug related if you ever have questions):

http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/livestock/yellow_fly.htm

A few highlights:

Introduction

In Florida, the name "yellow fly" is commonly used to describe a group of about a dozen different yellow-bodied biting flies in the Tabanidae family. However, Florida tabanid experts recognize only one species, Diachlorus ferrugatus (Fabricius), as the "true" yellow fly. (Cilek 2000a). In Belize this species is known as the "doctor fly."

The yellow fly is a fierce biter. Like mosquitoes, it is the female fly that is responsible for inflicting a bite. The males are mainly pollen and nectar feeders. Tabanids are most likely encountered in hot summer and early fall weather. They are active during daylight hours.

Biting Habits

The female is one of the most serious biting fly pests wherever it occurs (males do not bite). It attacks man vigorously, and the bites usually are painful, causing large and persistently itching swellings in many persons. Although it attacks throughout the day, it is most active during the late afternoon and on cloudy days. It is especially common near large bodies of water, but tends to remain in or near forests, seldom attacking in numbers far from the shelter of trees. It is one of the few tabanids which attacks indoors. All exposed parts of the victim's body may be attacked, and since the flight is rather quiet, a person is not aware of the flies until the sharp pain of the bite is felt. Domestic animals, including dogs, are attacked readily, although the fly's preference for shade makes it less of a pest to cattle and horses in open pastures. Flies are on the wing in Florida from March to November, although the peak season is April through June. Williams (1971) studied biting habits of D. ferrugatus in British Honduras, but nothing comparable has been done in Florida.

Management

No effective methods for larval control are known. Mosquito repellents are moderately effective against the adults except when the flies are very abundant or very hungry. Gloves and headnets offer the only sure means of protection. We have found deet (diethyl toluamide) to be the most effective repellent. To prevent possible development of dangerous hypersensitivity and systemic reactions, persons sensitive to the bites should avoid exposure to the flies.

 

[Supermom3]

Just back, too. No lovebugs to report, but the yellow flies were bad. We only had a problem with them at the resort, POR. I teased that Disney theming is so spot on they even import Louisiana mosquitos (we're from Louisiana).

The yellow fly bites are really itchy and last a really long time. Bring benadryl cream, it helped.