Dark Giant Horsefly (Tabanus sudeticus)

At 25mm long, the Dark Giant Horsefly (Tabanus sudeticus) holds the title of Europe's largest fly. Its heavy, dark body is imposing enough, but it's the eyes that steal the show - large, iridescent compound lenses banded in shimmering greens and purples, among the most visually striking of any European insect.

Tabanus sudeticus is found across Europe, from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean, in habitats near livestock and large mammals - moorland, marshes, woodland edges, and farmland. Females are blood-feeders, using blade-like mouthparts to slash the skin of cattle, horses, and deer before lapping up the pooling blood. The bite is painful, and heavy infestations can cause significant distress to livestock. Males, by contrast, are harmless nectar-feeders, and both sexes can be found visiting flowers in warm weather. Larvae develop in damp soil and mud near waterways, where they are predators of other invertebrate larvae.

Horsefly eyes are objects of genuine optical fascination. The iridescent colour bands visible in life are produced by thin-film interference in the corneal layers - the same physics that creates colour in soap bubbles - and disappear after death as the structures dry and collapse. Recent research has shown that the pattern of these bands may help horseflies regulate the polarisation of incoming light, aiding navigation and the detection of water surfaces. It is a sophisticated piece of biological optics housed in an insect most people encounter only as a source of sharp pain on a summer afternoon.

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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