Biting gnats, more commonly known as biting midges, are very small biting flies. They are generally active at dawn, at dusk and sometimes throughout the day if the weather is cloudy with no wind. They can be very annoying for people who spend a lot of time outdoors and typically the victim can feel the bite but not actually see what caused it. Numbers of midges are nearly impossible to control, so it is a good idea to wear long-sleeve clothing and repellent to reduce the risk of being bitten.
Family and Distribution
Midges are in the family Ceratopogonidae, number around 4,000 species and are found throughout the world, particularly in salt marshes and other aquatic environments. Relatively few of the 4,000 species bite humans and suck blood for survival, and even then only the females of those species do this. There are over 600 species found in North America, most of which feed on insects or other animals rather than humans.
Life Cycle
The life cycle of the biting midge includes several stages. It starts life in an egg, then hatches to become a larva, then a pupa and finally becomes an adult. Depending on the species and where it is living, this entire process can take between two and six weeks. Adult midges are most likely to be found around breeding sites but will move away to mate and feed.
Description
The biting midge changes a lot as it grows. It starts off as a tiny banana-shaped egg that is white when first laid and then becomes darker in color. These eggs are laid in a moist environment and will not hatch if they dry out. After two to 10 days an egg will hatch into a white caterpillar or worm-like larva that is no more than 1/5 of an inch long. The larva then becomes a pupa, which is yellow or brown in color and only lasts for two or three days. The midge is smaller as an adult than it is when it is a larva or pupa at around 1/8 of an inch.
Diet and Breeding
There is a very short time for the adult midges to breed when they appear from their pupae in late spring or early summer. Both males and females feed on nectar and then mate. When the males have mated, they then die. The females feed on blood when the eggs are developing. The females may live for several weeks more than the males and can lay more than one batch of eggs.
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