Blandford Fly

Taxobox
name = The Blandford Fly
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
subphylum = Hexapoda
classis = Insecta
subclassis = Pterygota
infraclassis = Neoptera
superordo = Endopterygota|
ordo = Diptera
subordo = Nematocera
infraordo = Culicomorpha
superfamilia = Chironomoidea
familia = Simuliidae
subfamilia = Simuliinae
tribus = "Simuliini"
genus = "Simulium"
subgenus = "Simulium"
species = "S. posticatum"
binomial = "Simulium posticatum"
binomial_authority = Meigen, 1838
synonyms = *"S. austeni" Edwareds, 1915

The Blandford Fly ("Simulium posticatum"), a species of Black fly, is a biting insect found locally around Blandford Forum and villages bordering the River Stour in Dorset, UK. Its larvae breed in the weedbeds of the slow flowing river and when the fly emerges,the female seeks a blood meal before mating. It usually bites the lower legs causing pain and swelling, after which secondary infections set in. In 1988 over 1400 local people were hospitalised, leading to questions in Parliament about the insect.Fact|date=February 2007 There have also been fatalities as a result of the bites. In the early 1990s Dorset County Council asked the Institute for Freshwater Ecology based in Wareham, Dorset to investigate a means of ameliorating the problem. They came up with a biodegradable organic pesticide which was sprayed into the weed beds. This has been a great success and reduced the bites resulting in hospital admissions in 1999 to just 45.

References

* [http://www.hall-woodhouse.co.uk/beers/badgerales/blandfordfly.asp The curse of the Blandford Fly - The history behind the Blandford Fly from Badger Brewery]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A6756519 The Blandford Fly] at BBC Guide to Life, The Universe and Everything. Accessed June 2008
* [http://www.whitecliffpractice.co.uk/around%20the%20area/blandford%20fly.htm Treating a Blandford Fly bite] by Mike Ladle PhD. Fellow of the Freshwater Biological Association. At the Whitecliff Group practice website, Blandford Forum, Dorset. Accessed June 2008