‘The Blandford fly The Blandford fly (sometimes called blackfly) is found in east Anglia, Oxfordshire and Dorset.
Blandford fly bites are common during May and June, and are very painful, frequently occurring on the legs. They can produce a severe, localised reaction, with symptoms including oedema (itchy, pale pink, or red, swellings), blistering, fever, and joint pain.‘ Information here. The bites seem often to become infected.
The Blandford fly (more here) is curious – Wiki seems to suggest that it has become more of problem due to more people installing water features. But I don’t think next doors swimming pool would count. Too chlorinated. And there’s nothing else I know of locally. The village pond is about half a mile away.
Well the blighters have arrived early. Typically I’m bitten in the evening… just as the light is fading and I’m squeezing in just one or two more jobs before coming in from the garden – but almost always in May. My first bites this year were on 19th April.
At first there is no reaction. Out of the corner of my eye I think I may have seen a low flying black fly, or two, but I think I’ve got away with it. (I always have the impression they are lying low in the soil and I disturb them from their slumbers.) Then in the early hours of the following morning I’m woken by itching. Over the next 48 hours a reaction develops. By last evening, after a day at work a swollen ankle and tenderness in a calf muscle had developed. Darn it. Not serious, by any means…. but my legs are not the most glamorous in the world at the best of times, but just now – well lets put it this way: I won’t be wearing shorts for a few weeks.
So I’m off to the shops having added insect repellent to my list, but maybe I should also buy tick removers? Did you know it was tick awareness week last week? No, nor did I… but the fact it was depression awareness week as well had slipped me by.
Maybe I should also add this sort of Blandford Fly to my shopping basket. Now that seems like a good solution. And who ever named that had a decent sense of humour.
Boadicea's Chariot 
Agh, what a pain.
Thank you for the warning, Nym. I haven’t been bitten yet this year, but I must admit, I haven’t had much for time for gardening. I’m planning to this weekend.
Believe it or not, I used to live in Bryanston, a little village close to Blandford Forum, which has the distinction of being just above the river meadow in which the Blandford Fly first emerged. Our regular dog walk took us there, until we learnt!
Absolute buggers, they were, although we found they were a little slow for a fly, and could be avoided if one was sufficiently alert. With luck and a fair wind.
But the entire family suffered horribly, at first. You have my sympathy, Pseu. 😦
On balance, I think I prefer the beer. Badger Ales are scrummy!
Maybe the beer would ameliorate the bites…?
but in case it doesn’t I have a spray on deet. 🙂
Aeroguard yourself 🙂
Crikey Pseu, I don’t think I’ve ever seen one, and hope I don’t either.
I tend to follow the Bhuddist line in trying not to harm fellow creatures but I agree that flying pests must be dealt with, so what I do is this. I squirt them with hair spray, this does not kill them but it does stop their little wings from flapping and it holds them in place for a short while they glide away from wherever I am.
OMG 🙂
But you are fooling yourself. Hairspray would block their system of internal tubes called tracheae that are known to exchange oxygen through slow, passive mechanisms, including diffusion. (A new study demonstrates that beetles, crickets, ants, butterflies, cockroaches, dragonflies and other insects use rapid cycles of tracheal compression and expansion in their head and thorax to breathe.)
These trachae open in spiracles which are located laterally along the thorax and abdomen of most insects — usually one pair of spiracles per body segment.
Oh dear, but at least they popped their clogs with neat hair.
🙂
These Blandford biters sound like close relatives to Scottish midges. Sounds like you react really badly, Pseu, which is awful. I use a deterrent called Cinq Cinq Tropique, which discourages all such beasties from approaching us. I gave my daughter a bottle of it in Italy and forgot to tell her it was for smearing on herself. She sprayed it on the first mosquito she saw in her room and the thing more or less dissolved. Hope this doesn’t offend you, omg.
Actually I react less than some I know, so maybe this sounds too much like a whinge! In my experience midges don’t cause a long term reaction but are very irritating at the time…