Cleg, a name given to some insects of the dipterous family Tabanidæ, the females of which are in summer extremely troublesome to horses, cattle, and human beings. Some of them are well known as 'breeze-flies.' The females pierce the skin of their victims by means of formidable lancet-like mouth organs, and greedily suck the blood from the wounds. The name cleg is sometimes given in England to Chrysops cecutiens, a fly frequent in most parts of Europe, but rare in Scotland. It often attacks man, and not unfrequently inserts its proboscis through the sleeve, or some other part of the dress. It is about one-third of an inch in length, mostly black, with yellow markings on the abdomen, and very large eyes of the most beautiful green and golden colours. The insect always called cleg in Scotland is Hæmatopota pluvialis—a rather smaller but equally troublesome fly, mostly of a gray colour, but also remarkable for its very large and beautiful eyes, which are greenish, with waved purplish-brown bands. In England it is sometimes called the Stout. It is particularly common in low damp places.
