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If you’ve ever been swarmed by tiny, annoying flies while golfing, fishing, or even whengardening, you’re probably familiar with black flies. “Black flies are stout-bodied flies which are closely related to mosquitoes,” says entomologist Elmer Gray, director of theUniversity of Georgia Black Fly Research and Resource Center, the only black fly colony in the world. “Their intense swarming activity around your head and face creates a significant nuisance if you’re trying to enjoy the outdoors.”
Black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) are about 2 to 4 millimeters in size with humped backs and a shiny black, tan, or greenish body. The larval stage develops in the flowing water of rivers and streams before they emerge as adults, says Elmer. Depending on the species and where you live, there may be one or more generations produced each year, typically in spring and sometimes in early summer and fall.
Black fliescan travel for miles and can be found anywhere there are running streams or rivers nearby, even in urban areas. They are attracted to hosts by smell, heat, and sight. Female flies feed on nectar but require a blood meal to lay eggs, while males feed only on nectar. Many species that bite people are found in northern parts of the country, while species found in the South often are more of a swarming nuisance, says Gray.
You may not see many of these pests in some years; in other years, it’s nearly impossible
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