The other insect out there that’s really annoying are those horseflies (I think some people call them deerflies). They are also really aggressive and they can follow you for a long time. I swear that one time one followed me for at least a kilometer. Their bites are annoying, but not horrifyingly painful. They can be quite itchy if they get you really good. And it’s like they just rip a piece of your flesh off. They are generally attracted to mammals and probably home in on you from your CO2 emissions.
They apparently can also carry parasitic worms (ad manyvpeo9le have said, inhavent fact checked that). They do bite into flesh and blood, and can go through clothing. I try tonlet them land, then kill. They are slow. Always wash bites well with clean water.
They are on the rise. Not even 10 years ago I would see a few during summer per year. Now I get minimum 50 per day if I’m working outside. They have become WAY more numerous. And they’re dirty ottle bastards, so probably not recommended to eat them 
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I thought there are no horse flies in Taiwan.
I guess it’s good that I’m helping someone manufacture horse fly traps.
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There are lots, and they are not only becoming more numerous but spreading.
Bigger market for the horse fly trap I guess.
If it works, maybe. Though they aren’t as big an issue as say ants, roaches and mosquitoes in this country. This isn’t northern Canada by any stretch of the imagination.
Can check here for a simple preliminary check on what exists here: 虻科 Tabanidae | 分類群 | 台灣生物多樣性網絡
where are they coming from? are they an invasive species? who in God’s name would bring these little bastards to another country?
I highly doubt people would intentionally bring insects to any country, it is simply a byproduct of global trade.
It’s how rats went everywhere, same with cats and dogs. People surely do not go around bringing crates of rats, they just hitch a ride somehow.
Same with the horse flies. They might hitch a ride on a cargo ship or an aircraft, and they end up as invasive species. We have no ability to bio scan every single containers out there to ensure no invasive insects didn’t hitch a ride in there. Something like only 1% of the containers are ever inspected at all!
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oh yeah, you’re right, I just forgot about shit like that, lol…
It’s happened much more the other way it seems. Where I’m from (Midwest US) we had serious problems with Asian invasive insects, most notably the long-horned beetles and emerald ash borers. Recently, I saw that those giant spiders that are quite common in jungle areas of Taiwan are around now too, and of course, Asian hornets have made it to North America as well, getting the name “murder hornets” in the process.
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It’s the price of worldwide trade… try as they might there’s no way for the authorities to screen 100% of what comes in… it’s just impossible.
And it’s not just containers, but ships. Wasps could build nests inside ships that goes to places.
There are rat guards to stop rats from getting on ships but life finds a way, we are powerless to stop it.
The weird thing about the horse flies is that I usually think of them as being in a more northern climate, I’m surprised that they can thrive in a sub-tropical climate. They’re kinda rare where I’m from, but if you go further north to Michigan or Wisconsin for example, they’re much more prevalent.
I never lived in northern climates, was in Germany but apart from tough German mosquitoes, I didn’t see any horse flies.
But they are quite common in Japan from what I hear…
Mid to late summer we have lots in Canada. The ones we call horseflies are bigger and the bite takes a chunk of flesh. Deerflies are smaller and the bite is more of a sting
Blackflies early summer, tiny but take big bites. They are thick but only for a short time between snowmelt and hot days.
Mosquitoes all summer
Good thing about having winter for so much of the year, is that there is a break from the bugs
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I find it weird that there are not many mosquitoes in the heat of the summer, but that they seem to be active in fall and spring. Do mosquitoes have a sweet spot when it comes to temperature?
In Germany mosquitoes are ferocious, even though their summer is almost like Taiwan’s winter.
Plenty of mosquitoes down here all summer
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Taiwan has native species. As does nearly every country on earth 
It’s true, nothing here compares to that of various places in Canada. But we still like to hate on the local ones haha.
In my opinion, it’s more about disease than discomfort. Some species are really dirty little buggers.
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Where was this? I need to get down there and poke around. I’m getting ready to mass market a horsefly trap in Japan (and later world-wide) that I developed after being bitten by a horsefly on my farm in Japan. Just successfully completed testing many traps in various sites throughout Hokkaido. It uses no chemicals but works instead by exploiting the natural behavior of horseflies. One trap will eliminate 95% of horseflies from a two acre area in a week or two.
Florida actually has more horseflies than any other US state. Horseflies are present in every country on earth except a few island nations like Greenland and Iceland.
On a trail in Yangmingshan.
Thanks. I’ve talked to many people in agriculture in Taiwan the last few years and none have reported a significant problem with horseflies. Looks like it’s time to rethink my marketing plan to include Taiwan in the first rollout.
What is the season for horseflies in your area?