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No-See-Ums

What bug is unseen to the eyes that invade?
February 2, 2010
What kind of bug bites hard, leaves whelpes, like a rash, but can’t be seen?
Not scappies! I thought dust mites but be treated for that and still have the problem. We thought flees, but have seen none! it’s at night when they attack, we thought maybe a nat or something.
Can you help me? DeAnn
los angeles

No-See-Ums, seriously.

Oh my God!  I first thought you were make’s fun of me, then I discover there really is a bug call no-see-ums, lol…  Thanks!

Posted 02 February 2010 § ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Aggregation of Fungus Gnat Larvae

What are these?
May 28, 2009
Found two clumps of hundreds of these creatures outside on my patio, all moving together in the same general direction. They’re slimy, slippery…almost slug-like, but appear to be larvae of some sort.
Eric
Charlotte, North Carolina

Fungus Gnat Larvae Aggregation

Fungus Gnat Larvae Aggregation

Hi Eric,
We apologize for the lengthy delay.  We are trying to respond to some of our long overdue unanswered requests.  These are Fungus Gnat Larvae.  The Hydro Gardens website has some information.  You can also see a matching photo from Alaska on the Social Caterpillar website of Cortland faculty.  BugGuide also has a posting discussing the aggregations of the larvae of Dark Winged Fungus Gnats in the family Sciaridae.

Fungus Gnat Larvae Aggregation

Fungus Gnat Larvae Aggregation

Posted 21 December 2009 § Maggots ‡ Comments (0) °

Mysterious Larvae in webbing possibly Fungus Gnat Larvae

Strange White Larvae In Webbing Under Rock
November 21, 2009
Hi,
I’ve been using your site to identify insects ever since I discovered it a year ago. The work you guys do here is really amazing, especially encouraging people not to kill the insect for identification!
Please note that the image here was taken in September under a rock on the bare ground. There were none of these larva on the ground under the rock, they seemed to be confined to their ‘webbing’. I only took one photo unfortunately, as I figured they’d be pretty characteristic and easy to identify. This has not been the case so far…
Christie
Muskoka, Ontario, Canada

Unidentified Mass of Larvae

Mass of Larvae: Fungus Gnats

Hi Christie,
Your image represents one of two letters with mystery larvae we just received.  We thought your example must be some species of fly, but our preliminary search drew a big blank.  We also entertained the possibility that they might be Flea larvae since they spin a silken cocoon, and though there is a resemblance, we cannot find any information indicating this degree of group habitation.  We will contact Eric Eaton in an attempt to give you an answer.  You might want to consider providing a comment to this posting online in the event that we get a response far in the future.

Unidentified Mass of Larvae

Mass of Larvae: Fungus Gnats

Eric Eaton Responds
Daniel:
I have now found several images of fungus gnat larvae on the ‘net that show a distinct head capsule.  They are well-known to spin silk or mucus, too, so that part fits.  There may be a species up in Canada that is colonial as suggested by the image, but that is a group of flies I am barely familiar with (families Mycetophilidae and Sciaridae).
Eric

Posted 22 November 2009 § ‡ Comments (1) ° Tagged:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Fungus Gnat Larvae: Strange Formations

Unknown Larvae Formations
September 24, 2009
We live in central TN and found these larvae formations around our driveway after heavy rains. Mostly seen in circular and abstract formations but always in clusters, never single larva alone. They also seem to stay in one location for long periods of time after patterns are formed. Their exterior has a translucent appearance rather than solid color and has a black tip or end. Do you know what this is?
Thanks for your help – Shannon
Central TN

Fungus Gnat Larvae

Fungus Gnat Larvae

Hi Shannon,
We contacted Eric Eaton and here is what he had to say:  “Hi, Daniel:  Well, these must be the dumbest larvae in history to be going in a circle.  LOL!  They are the larvae of some kind of dark-winged fungus gnat, family Sciaridae.  The larvae of some species are well-known for their occasional, spectacular mass movements.
Eric“

Fungus Gnat Larvae

Fungus Gnat Larvae

Posted 25 September 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Fungus Gnat

We’re in Fungus Gnat Hell
Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 9:13 PM
Is this some sort of Fungus Gnat? They act like a cross between a mosquito and a small fly. About the size of a mosquito, with long wings. But in flight much slower than any mosquito or fly (that is, I can swat one). They appear to have invaded us after an extended warm spell here in San Diego. They don’t seem to bite, and appear generally harmless, but worry that they’re a danger to the outdoor plants or citrus trees. My kids are freaking out b/c they think they are mosquitoes, lying in wait to torment them and suck their blood while they slumber…
Kel
Coastal San Diego

Fungus Gnat

Fungus Gnat

Dear Kel,
In our estimation, you are correct that this is a Dark Winged Fungus Gnat in the family Sciaridae.  Charles Hogue, in his book Insects of the Los Angeles Basin, identifies a Root Gnat in this family, Bradysia impatiens, that also looks like your specimen.  Hogue writes:  “This is the tiny black gnat that flits in your face while you are watching television and that always seems to get stuck in fresh paint.  The larva lives in decaying plant material, such as compost, peat, and sphagnum;  it also commonly infests the roots and stems of various herbaceous plants.  The insect may develop in the media used for potted plants, which explains its mysterious appearance indoors.”

Fungus Gnat

Fungus Gnat

Posted 23 January 2009 § ‡ Comments (0) °
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

Unidentified Sluglike Mystery Organism and Fungus Gnat Larvae

slug-like creature
Mon, Dec 29, 2008 at 3:02 PM
Hi,
I found this little guy under a log at my aunt’s house in central Oklahoma this summer. I see these guys pretty often, but have no idea what they are. They leave a trail of slime like a slug, but don’t have any eye-stalks, and they make little “webs” out of their slime. Any help you can provide would be much appreciated. Thanks for the great site, and happy holidays.
Josh Kouri,
Oklahoma City , Ok.

Big Mystery

Big Mystery

Hi Josh,
We are not certain how to classify your mystery organism. We don’t believe it is a mollusc, so would rule out that it is a slug. We also don’t believe it is an insect, though some larval insects are very uninsectlike, including many larval flies, commonly called maggots. This might be a fly larva. It also doesn’t seem very wormlike or leechlike to us. For now, we would say perhaps this is some type of fly larva, but we are far from certain. Perhaps our readership will come to our rescue. Meanwhile, is it possible for you to tell us how large this organism is?

The ones I’ve seen range in size from about 1/4 inch to one inch. The one
pictured was about 3/4 of an inch. Hope this helps. I’ll see if I have any
other pics.

Identification: December 31, 2008
Daniel:
Well, the description of the behavior is more helpful than the image in this case. You are quite right about it being a fly larva, most likely that of a fungus gnat in the family Mycetophilidae. Some species are known to build mucous “webs,” most notably the bioluminescent ones in Waitomo Caves in New Zealand. This one sure ‘looks’ like a slug….
Eric Eaton

Update:
January 1, 2009
Hi,
I was looking at some of my older pictures today and realized that the slug-like creature is not what makes the “webs”, and the one pictured is the only one I have seen. The creatures that make the “webs” are more worm-like, and the lengths I gave you are for the worms, as I have only seen one of the slug-creatures. I still don’t know what either of the creatures is, and I hope you guys can help. Sorry for the mistakes. Thanks for the awesome site, and happy New Year.
Josh Kouri

Fungus Gnat Larvae

Fungus Gnat Larvae

Hi Josh,
Eric Eaton wrote in to say that based on your written description, your creature was a Fungus Gnat larva in the family Mycetophilidae. That would mean that your original image is still a mystery and the new photo which shows the webs would be the Fungus Gnat larva.

fungus gnat larvae update
Fri, Jan 2, 2009 at 11:31 AM
Hi,
When I saw that you guys identified the “worms” as fungus gnat larvae I decided to look for better pictures on the internet.
The pictures I found looked a lot different from what I have been seeing. Is it possible the “worms” are some other type of fly or gnat larvae, or even something completely different? Thanks again for all you do.
Josh Kouri

Update: January 5, 2009
Daniel:
Saw the update that the image is not what is making the mucous webs. Well, I would say that the image is that of a slug, then, and it shouldn’t be that hard to ID. It is probably an introduced European species that has spread via commerce, ship’s ballast, etc.
Eric

Posted 31 December 2008 § Maggots ‡ Comments (0) ° Tagged:

Dark Winged Fungus Gnat

pesky little bug
Hello bug people.
I have never used your site before, so I am excited to see how it works. This little bug, (that is a penny), is flying around my house. I am suspicious that it is the male of a scale insect that I am wrestling with on my plants. Does that seem possible or likely to you? Thanks.
Betsy Higgins
Florence, MA

gnat betsy Dark Winged Fungus Gnat

Hi Betsy,
Our site works, if that is how you would like to refer to it, with the reception of emails. Then, depending upon our time, we try to post a few letters. We choose letters based on their content and imagery. Engaging writing always catches our attention. Interesting imagery also catches our attention. Unusual new species catch our attention and timely sightings most always get posted. We can assure you this is NOT a male Scale Insect. We believe it looks like a Dark Winged Fungus Gnat in the family Sciaridae. BugGuide has many examples and identifies only one to the genus level. Though they are annoying, they are harmless. The larvae feed on fungus and decaying organic matter. There is one image on BugGuide that illustrates both the abdominal shape and markings of the specimen in your image. We last posted a letter to our Gnat page in 2005, and that was a decisive factor in selecting your letter. More than that, we were amused that the penney in your photo is 50 years old.

Posted 08 February 2008 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Gnat

WTB
All of a sudden I seem to have all of these tiny little flying things. They appear in the bathroom light and fly across the screen of my tv and computer monitor. Some days they are few and some days they seem to be everywhere. I’ve thrown out all the trash, the fruit, I have no plants. I have a dog and a cat but they do not seem to be hanging around their food or water. They’re making me crazy. I’ve attached photos of the little varmints. They look a little like flies but are much smaller.
Thanks,
Lynn

gnat in mirror Gnatgnat lynn Gnat

Hi Lynn,
You have some type of Gnat. These small relatives of flies sometimes appear in great numbers for short periods of time and then just as suddenly dissappear. Some types have larvae that feed on plant roots, others on decaying organic materials.

Posted 08 June 2005 § ‡ Comments (0) °

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