Dark Giant Horsefly (Tabanus sudeticus)

At 25 millimetres this is the largest fly in Europe, but it is the eyes that hold the attention: large compound lenses banded in shifting greens and purples. The colour comes from thin-film interference in the corneal layers, the same physics that colours a soap bubble, and it exists only in life - the structures dry and collapse after death, and the bands go with them.

Research suggests the banding may help the fly read the polarisation of incoming light, which would assist navigation and the detection of water surfaces. It is a sophisticated piece of biological optics on an animal most people meet only as a sharp pain on a summer afternoon.

Only the females bite. They need blood to develop eggs, and use blade-like mouthparts to cut the skin of cattle, horses and deer before lapping at the pool that forms. Males feed on nectar and are entirely harmless. Larvae develop in damp soil near water, preying on other invertebrates.

A vector illustration of the dark giant horsefly in dorsal view, drawn for the Bugs series of insect art prints.

Bugs is a collection of natural history illustration prints drawn from the insect world - beetles, flies, bugs, butterflies, and moths selected for the strangeness, beauty, and variety of their forms.

Each illustration is adapted from Simon Tyler's book Bugs, published by Pavilion in 2017 and subsequently published in French and Chinese. The series draws on the tradition of scientific natural history illustration - precise, considered, and attentive to the details that make each species distinctive.

Insects account for the majority of all known animal species on Earth. This collection is a small survey of what that diversity looks like.

All prints are produced to order on 250gsm archival matte paper using pigment-based inks, chosen for colour accuracy and long-term stability.

Each print is rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, sealed for moisture protection, ready for framing on arrival.

Large · 50 × 70 cm · 20 × 28 in

XLarge · 70 × 100 cm · 28 × 40 in

UK: Free · 3-5 working days

Europe: €8.50 · 3-7 working days · No customs charges

USA & Canada: $8.95 / $12.00 CAD · 5-10 working days

Australia: $14.00 AUD · 5-10 working days

Rest of World: £14.95 · 7-14 working days

All prints are produced to order and dispatched within 1-3 working days. Orders placed before 5pm GMT ship the same day. You'll receive tracking information by email once dispatched.

Orders outside Europe may be subject to local customs charges on delivery - these are the responsibility of the recipient.

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Returns accepted within 30 days. Email returns@axisophy.com with your order number and we'll provide return instructions.

Return postage is the customer's responsibility except where the print arrives damaged or there's been an error - in which case we'll arrange a replacement or refund immediately, no return needed.

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