Are Horse Flies A Thing In Colorado? And Do They Actually Bite?

Over the weekend I was on a boat. There was a fly on board that kept buzzing around and annoying people until I realized it landed on my leg. Right as I started to swat it away, I felt a pinch. It flew to my other leg and another pinch, before I finally swatted it off the boat and out of sight.

Related: You Shouldn't Kill These Insects This Time of Year in Colorado

24 hours later, the itch on those two bites is unbearable. A little Google research told me it was probably a horse fly, but then I read something that kinda blew my mind:

Horse flies in Colorado rarely bite people, except at much higher elevations in the state.

So apparently it's more likely I was bitten by a DEER fly, which are day biters and are found around water, especially around edges of the water where there's shrubs and tall grass.

Read More: Did You Know That Colorado Has An Official State Insect?

But then here's the more terrifying part of what I read.

Ever heard of the SNIPE FLY? I mean... can it have a more haunting name?

From Colorado State University:

Snipe flies (Symphoromyia spp.) are close relatives of deer flies. They are found near forested areas of higher elevations of the state. Snipe flies can be vicious biters and feed during the day.

Very little is known of the habits of these insects. Larvae of some snipe flies develop in moist soils of grassy woodlands. Others have been found in rotten wood or decaying vegetation where they are thought to develop as predators of other insects.

The jury is still out on what fly bit me. But what I can tell you is for the last few nights, I've laid in bed viciously scratching both of my legs, staring at the ceiling for hours and hours desperate to fall asleep.

Thinking it may be time to invest in one of those electrocution tennis racket looking things.