So, the biting problem at a particular location may be generated at some distance away, even in Florida. Damage Black flies have preferences for a wide range of individual host species. Adult females feed on the blood of humans, cattle, horses, sheep, goats, poultry, other livestock and wild mammals and birds. Each black fly species may prefer one type of host over another. The black fly common name sometimes indicates host specificity, for example the turkey gnat.
Black flies are daytime biters preferring low wind conditions.
They are not restricted to shaded or humid sites, and usually do not go indoors. They are attracted to hosts from a distance by smell, heat, and by sight. The female flies swarm around and crawl on the host preferring the head, hair, and ears as well as any skin that is exposed or that they can crawl onto. S. slossonae is primarily a bird feeder and probably preys on wild turkeys to some extent. It is the primary vector of the protozoan blood parasite, Leucocytozoon smithi , in Florida.