deer fly

American  

noun

1. any of several tabanid flies of the genus Chrysops, the female of which is a vector of tularemia in deer, livestock, and humans.

---

Etymology

Origin of deer fly

An Americanism dating back to 1850–55

Example Sentences

There was deer fly season, mosquito season, greenhead fly season.

From Washington Times • Apr. 25, 2015

Putney, 25 May 1977: hot weather, swimming weather, deer fly weather.

From Time Magazine Archive

We frequently saw the deer fly before us, in droves of twenty or thirty.

From Scenes and Andventures in the Semi-Alpine Region of the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas by Schoolcraft, Henry Rowe

Thus the beavers grow more scarce, and deer fly farther back; yet after I have reserved skins for my mantle and the clothing of my wife, I will exchange the rest.

From The Life and Times of Kateri Tekakwitha The Lily of the Mohawks by Walworth, Ellen H.

Flaming onions began surging 194upward in their terrifying circlets, but Yancey was as scornful of them as is a Texas steer of a buzzing deer fly.

From Aces Up by Clarke, Covington