Subject: HELP! Buffalo gnats!

From: [email-masked] (BK Wallacebowden)
Date: 29 Apr 1996 16:18:01 GMT

BK Wallacebowden
[email-masked]

I'm on a quest to find out all I can about a particularly pesky 
pest we have here in Southern Illinois.  Perhaps other parts of 
the country have them, too.  Don't know the scientific name, 
but they're known as BUFFALO GNATS around here.  They're small 
(mosquito-sized) winged flies that swarm animals at pasture.  
They attack during daylight hours in temperatures ranging from 
40 - 85 degrees.  They feast from early March through May, 
depending on the weather conditions and temperature.  Early 
Spring warmth brings them out and only early Summer heat makes 
them leave.

Have you heard of them?  They're relative newcomers to our 
area.  They are small blood-sucking flies that attack in 
Spring.  As soon as the weather warms to about 45 degrees they 
"come out" and they are with us during the daylight hours until 
the weather is a steady 80-85 degrees.  We have four horses and 
the gnats make life miserable for all of us.  We have to turn 
our horses out before dawn and after dark to protect them from 
the flies.  Nothing, save keeping the horses in their stalls 
and turning them out for an hour or so before dawn and after 
dark, seems to work.  After the buffalo gnats leave we have the 
usual roster of flies, but they're controlled by keeping the 
barn spotless, the stalls clean, and the manure disposed of.  
We really don't have a major problem with "standard" flies, 
just these newcomers.  And they ARE a major pain, literally.

I'm trying to learn more about them so I can do battle with 
them.  Hope you can help steer me in the right direction for my 
research.  I want to know about their life-cycle, where they
breed, and any effective means of controlling their numbers safely.

Any information you can provide will be appreciated.

Thanks!

---

From: Kenelm Philip <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 29 Apr 1996 15:50:34 -0800

Forgot to mention one thing about black flies, which Conlan's comment
about itching bites reminded me of:

        Black flies inject a proteinase when they bite, which stays in the
wound and acts to break down flesh. That's why the bites often develop into
visible holes, making it look as if the flies bit out a chunk of flesh. This
also accounts for the (often intense and long-lasting) itching that may
result.

                                                        Ken Philip
[email-masked]