Why a horse fly bite hurts so much more than a mosquito sting

Horse flies don't just bite - they slash your skin and lap up blood with a sponge-like tongue.

Tabanus subniger, specimen from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Public Domain

I was about ten years old when a horse fly bit me. I was on a camping trip. I saw the giant fly land on my leg. It went to work immediately. Before I even had a chance to brush it off, it ripped into my skin. The pain was far more intense than a bee sting. I slapped it off. A rivulet of blood flowed down my leg.