Being bitten by a biting stable fly
is a painful experience for your animal.
Stable flies are very persistent when searching for a blood meal. Their mouth parts are for biting structures and not for sponging like the housefly. The adult's piercing mouth parts protrude spear-like from under the head. The adult cuts the skin to feed, causing a painful bite. Both adult sexes will stay on the host for two to five minutes and normally feed only once per day during the daylight hours. On humans the bite site does not appear to get irritated and bites rarely results in allergic reactions.
Where can you find the biting stable fly on your animal?
The adult fly will normally be found feeding on the legs (especially front legs), belly, sides and back of larger animals. On smaller animals, such as dogs, they feed around the ears due to the superficial blood vessels, and on the head and legs. Humans usually get bitten on the legs, behind the knees, and on the elbows.