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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) °

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:
What's That Bug? does not endorse extermination

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

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

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) °

Fungus Gnat

black flying bugs
(great!) website and don’t see anything that matches what we have here – Every year about this time (Columbia, SC) we get these black flying bugs – they come in for a week or so and then go away. They don’t bite, don’t really seem to do much of anything except occasionally fly around. I think they are harmless but I’d like to know what they (or their larvae) eat so I know if my trees are in danger. It’s mostly just a little un-nerving to see hundreds of them on your wall (they seem to like the coolness of the brick) – looks kind of amityville horror-esque. I’m sending three photos – one looking down on them, one is a side view (so you can see the yellow abdomin – in this photo they almost look like lightning bugs but they definitely are not), and one is a shot of the wall – all those black spots are these bugs.
Thanks for any help you can provide.
Kim

Hi Kim,
We wanted to be sure exactly what type of gnat you are being visited by, so we checked with expert Eric Eaton. Here is what he has to say: “Ok, these are indeed gnats, dark-winged fungus gnats to be exact, family Sciaridae. I don’t know much about the outdoor varieties, but understand they can be overwhelmingly abundant at times. Adults do not bite, may not even feed at all. Eric”

Posted 13 May 2005 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Water Midges

swarming bugs
We live in NH. Every summer evening before sunset these bugs appear in
swarms of thousands, usually in a tight, stationary "tower" maybe 2 feet across and up to 8 feet tall. They don’t bite and can’t be chased away. If they set up a "tower" over a table, and the table is moved, they will move with the table. They never, ever sit still or land so photos are difficult, but I managed to get the attached which might help. If they’re going to share our back yard with us, we’d like to know what to call them.
Thanks,
John C

Hi John,
It sounds like you have Water Midges from the Family Chironomidae. The larvae develop in shallow areas of lakes, ponds and streams where there is a heavy growth of aquatic plants. Adults emerge in such numbers as to be a nuisance, but fortunately, they do not bite. According to Hogue: “Small clouds of males are frequently seen hovering in the air over or near water. At times, they form larger clouds that look like smoke over trees or tall structures; these aggregations are attractive to females and are the chief mating strategy of many species. Tremendous numbers may also gather around lights on warm summer evenings.”

Posted 01 July 2004 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Hessian Fly

Found this critter in our yard this year (we live in Texas). Sat down on the garden swing and then found we were covered in them. Have never seen one before. Sort of looks like a cross between a spider (the round torso) a fly (the wings) and a mosquito (legs and stinger like head)? Sorry I couldn’t get a closer pic. The camera wouldn’t focus on the bug and not the leafs that close. Haven’t hung around long enough to see if they sting or not.
Sandra

Dear Sandra,
It is difficult to be certain with your photograph, but I’m guessing you encountered a swarm of Hessian Flies, Mayetiola destructor, an agricultural pest in the Midge family Cecidomyiidae. The maggots do serious damage to wheat plants. Adults are small (1/8 to 3/16 inch long), dark or red-tinged, gnat-like flies with long legs and antennae. The insect got its common name, according to Lutz, when the European insect was first noticed on Long Island shortly after the Hessian troops landed there. It is especially plentiful in Texas. Here is a downloaded Photo by C. Hoelscher.

Posted 04 January 2004 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Gnats

Hello, Bugman;
We have several houseplants: jades, aloes, hibiscus, etc, which seem to be attracting or generating extremely tiny flying black gnats or fleas that can barely be seen. We have washed down the plants to no avail; the almost invisible slowly flying bugs are still showing up in many areas of the house. Any idea of what this pest is and how we can control or eradicate it? Thanks so much for your help!
T.E. Boston

Dear T.E. Boston,
My money is on the Black Gnat, Bradysia impatiens. This is a type of root gnat from the Family Sciaridae. The adults are the tiny black gnats that flit in your face while you are watching television and that always seem to get stuck in fresh paint, writes Hogue. He continues "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 insects may develop in the media used for potted plants, which explains its mysterious appearance indoors." A mild soapy water used to water the plants might help. Other natural methods to try are an infusion of crushed garlic in water, or nicotine in water. Try soaking some cigarette butts in water and using that when you need to water the plants. The same can be done with the garlic infusion

Posted 01 January 2004 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Gnats

I live in the midwest and recently relandscaped a good portion of my lawn and had bluegrass sod laid. ok so it was a very warm dry winter then 2 days after sod was laid the spring rains started and just keep coming. Problem is 2 monthes later the rains still come 1 or 2 times a week. there are lots of mushrooms growing in the new sod but that dosen’t bother me i know it will dry up soon. the problem is the sodded area seems to be infested with small dark colored flying bugs larger than gnats but smaller than the average house fly.the sod is still deep green but im worried that this could be a damaging infestation! what kind of insecticide should be used ? can you tell me what kind of bug this could be? thanks in advance!
Robert Bouchard

Dear Robert,
Many nonbiting gnats including Root Gnats (Family Sciaridae) and March Flies (Family Bibionidae) spend their maggot form eating decaying plant material such as compost, peat and spaghnum. They are scavengers who often live among the roots of grasses. There was probably a substrate of manure and compost laid beneath your sod, and that is where the flies are breeding. They will not damage your lawn as they do not feed on the living grass.

Posted 21 May 2003 § ‡ Comments (0) °

Gnats

What is the tiny fly type bug that comes in through the window screens and hangs out on the window glass or ceiling. They almost look like a small fruit fly but they are not. They hang out in the grass as if you water your lawn or walk through it they disperse. Just tons coming in the garage screen door. I’ve been swatting them for almost a week now. Live in NY state and it has been dry and hot. Thanks

Dear R.
Any number of gnats are small enough to enter through the openings of window screens. The Black Gnat (family Sciaridae) is tiny, about 1/16 inch, and often flits in one’s face while watching television or gets caught in fresh paint, or causes despair when they appear in bowls of breakfast cereal. The larva live in decaying plant material, often being numerous around compost piles, and they are also known to infest the roots and stems of various herbaceous plants. Since you haven’t complained of itchy bites, you can be thankful that you aren’t being plagued by nasty no-see-ums, so count yourself lucky that you just get benign gnats.

Posted 04 August 2002 § ‡ Comments (0) °