I went out early this morning to work in my garden, knowing that rain was forecast for later in the day, and I have a lot to catch up with before a local garden club visits early in April. I did not stay long as there were so many of these horrible flies which pestered me regardless of being covered in insect repellent, and then it began to rain.
These flies are large, about 10mm in length, very loud in flight, persistent, and the females bite to feed on blood. They are called March flies in Australia, but are found worldwide and have different names elsewhere – in the UK as a child, I knew them as Horse flies. Regardless of how they are known, they are nasty! I sat still for a few minutes, and many landed on me so I was able to take these shots.
Canon EOS 550 D, Macro lens, hand held with fill in flash.
smcbphoto 
I also know them as Horse Flies. Their bite is most painful and they were the bane of my life when walking the dogs. Had to continually swing a lead around above my head like a helicopter propeller to ward them off. Even if they drove you away from gardening, you did get some excellent shots of the beasties.
Sue,
Great photos …. not so great subject!
Judy B