The Fly

It's not always necessary to visit the countryside to find interesting wildlife sometimes it comes to you. I would guess most of what turns up in our homes is not particularly welcome, but some things deserve a second look. At first I thought the visitor to my kitchen was a wasp looking briefly at the yellow and black striped pattern but no ordinary wasp, this was big! Perhaps a queen, maybe a hornet. Catch it in a pot before it strikes! Despite its angry buzz it was now safe to relax and examine it in more detail. Look at the stout body and the large eyes. This is a fly like I'd never seen before. Not a House-fly but a Horse-fly and a monster. Seeking re-assurance from a reference book I find that this fly is no big softy, apparently the females are "voracious blood-suckers, attacking large mammals, including man, with their blade-like mouth-parts".  Beware, all its female relations are out there waiting!