Hi guys, I know these pictures suck. It's hard to take pictures of bugs against my screen. It was also still a little dark out. I thought I had a moth on my screen at first and went out to take its picture. But it wasn't a moth. Unfortunately, I scared it off. I'm hoping you guys can give me a general idea of what it is. I don't need the exact species, just curious what it was. As for size, I'd say it was at least two inches long. It also flew very fast.

? Mydas Fly

It's what is called a Horse Fly in the family Tabanidae.

It's very likely to be Tabanus atratus female.

http://bugguide.net/node/view/...

http://bugguide.net/node/view/...

Thanks, Janet. I didn't know how to explain that thing in the front but I did see it. The protrusion it has where people have noses? That thing was pretty distinctive but I didn't know how to describe it. I hate when I can't get a decent picture of something! But looking at those links, that definitely looks like what I saw.

The thing hanging down is the cover for it's proboscis, the females of horse flies can give a nasty bite as they take your blood.

To get better shots of dark insects, use a flash and shoot in manual. The pics were enough for me to recognise the family, they have a distinctive look as most diptera families do.