No See Ums

Have you ever ended up with an itchy bug bite from an insect you did not see? You may have been the victim of a no-see-um!

What are no-see-ums? As the name suggests, they are insects that are so small they are difficult to see. They are biting insects that feed on vertebrate blood or other insects. Can you use nets, screens, or repellents to keep them from getting in houses or biting you? What treatments or home remedies are effective against biting midges? Keep reading to find out where no see ums live, why these bugs bite, and what to do about them.

5 Incredible No See Ums Facts!

No-see-ums can be pesky bugs, but they are also amazing animals.

• There are more than 5,000 species of these insects, and they live in every part of the world except the polar regions. Some species are known from bugs preserved in amber fossils.
• No see ums are holometabolous, meaning they have a complete metamorphosis with four distinct life stages, just like a butterfly. These include egg, larva, pupa, and the mature imago or adult.
• If you like chocolate, thank a no see um! Nectar is a major food source for all of these insects, but in some places, they are a major pollinator of the cocoa bean.
• No see ums have a life cycle of up to six weeks. About 28 days are spent inside the egg.
• These insects have special mouthparts designed for cutting skin. They also inject saliva under the skin, which causes blood to pool there. That makes it easier for the insect to drink the blood, but it also causes an itchy allergic reaction!

Species, Types, and Scientific Names

These insects are commonly called biting midges, punkies, biting gnats, sand flies, or sand fleas. They are a family of flies called Ceratopogonidae. Their superfamily is Chironomoidea, Infraorder Culicomorpha. This infraorder also includes mosquitos. They are of the suborder Nematocera and the order Diptera. Their class is Insecta, the insects; phylum Arthropoda, invertebrates with an exoskeleton; and kingdom Animalia, the animals.

There are more than 5,000 species in the Ceratopogonidae family, divided among numerous genera. The scientific names of each individual species consist of the genera and species designation. A few common species’ scientific names include:

• Culicoides sonorensis.
• Bezzia nobilis, which feeds on mosquito larvae.
• Leptoconops torrens, native to California in the United States.
• Archiaustroconops besti is the oldest species, having been around for at least 142 million years.

Appearance

These insects are tiny, generally ranging from one to three millimeters in length. They are true insects. Noseeums have three body segments – a head, thorax, and abdomen – six legs, and wings. They are usually black, brown, or grey in color. Some have stripes. Like mosquitos, females feeding on blood develop a translucent distended abdomen, and you can see the blood inside.

Noseeums are distinguished from other small flies by a number of characteristics. They have hard structures called sclerites on their heads, and they have mouthparts specifically designed for cutting skin. The larvae of some species can be identified by their prolegs.

Habitat

No see ums can be found in almost every part of the world. The only exceptions are the Arctic and Antarctic, where the extreme temperatures are too cold for noseeums to live.

Diet

The diets of no see ums depend on the species, age, and sex of the individual. Food sources may include nectar, animal blood, or insects.

What Eats Them?

Larger insects and birds may catch and eat no see ums. They are also preyed upon by carnivorous plants, such as the sticky penstemon or beardtongue.

What Do They Eat?

Baby no see ums, called larvae, are both aquatic and terrestrial. This means they spend time in water and on land. As such, they often eat algae and fungi. They also need ample moisture to grow.

Similar to mosquitos, both the males and females of the species feed on nectar from flowers. In fact, nectar is their favorite food! In some tropical regions, no see ums are cocoa bean pollinators. This sweet liquid does not contain enough protein to help the female produce eggs, however.

To fill the deficit, the females of most species feed on vertebrate blood. Their mouthparts are designed for cutting the skin. This results in painful bites and itchy lesions on the host’s skin.

A few species prey on other insects rather than on human or animal blood. Interestingly, some species hunt mosquito larvae. At least one species eats only nectar.

History and Evolution

No see ums and similar insects have evolved in a way that allows them to survive by striking their prey without notice. Their diminutive size gives them an advantage in the wild that allows them to feed and avoid detection, while other similar blood-sucking insects might be warded off and find a harder time accessing a host.

Prevention: How to Get Rid Them

No see ums are small enough to pass through window screens and some insect nets, thus getting in houses. They can be repelled using insect repellents such as DEET, eucalyptus oil, Icaridin, or picaridin. Insecticides and even specific bacteria have been used to keep their populations in check.