Many of us have been bitten by a brake during the summer, especially when we have been a little hot and sweaty.
A Brake is a type of fly where the females are blood-sucking and need the blood to develop the eggs.
Follow biologist Per Ekerholm on a brake hunt in the clip above.
The brake that we are most often bitten by is a so-called blind brake, or blinding as it is often called.
It flies completely silently and is found almost everywhere.
If you are bitten by a brake, it usually hurts a lot as it tears a piece of the skin out of us when it bites.
It is completely silent and bites hard
- It is not heard when it attacks us and bites, it is like a mosquito but ten trips worse says Per Ekerholm, biologist at the County Administrative Board in Kronoberg.
It is not only the Blind Brake that can ruin an otherwise nice moment on the beach, but also the Fäbromsen, which is the blind big brother.
- You react to the size of this Brake, it is four to five centimeters long and bit with a message.
I have been bitten by far too many Fäbroms so far this summer, says Per Ekerholm.
The brake is also a useful insect in nature
In addition to biting us, the brakes are also useful in nature.
The males do not suck blood but act as pollinators in that they live on pollen and nectar.
They are also important as food for birds and other insects, such as dragonflies and predatory flies.