Nasty Gnats

In the insect world there exists a bug I sometimes consider the bane of my existence. Consider this, you're standing on a pleasant river bank casting to some smallmouth, or maybe you're just lounging in a hammock catching some rays or reading a good book. Regardless of what you're doing you're enjoying it. When all of a sudden your blitzed by an onslaught of tiny little bugs, swarming your face; getting into your mouth and eyes. You swat some and swallow the ones unfortunate enough to go into your mouth but they harass you to the point of unhappiness. You can hold your hand up until its exhausted, take a bath in Deet, or stay inside. These evil creatures I'm talking about are called  biting midges but are also called local names such as sand gnats, sand flies, no-see-ums and punkies. 


In the Order Diptera, and the Family Ceratopogonidae is the nasty devils, The Genus Culicoidni.

This annoying insect is the subject of my post, but not because of my personal vendetta but because it is a vector for both Blue Tongue Virus and Eastern Hemorrhagic Disease. Both ailments are killers of whitetail deer and can infect other large ungulates including cows, red deer, pronghorn, mule deer, and others. Though they don't seem to have such an impact on other animals. In this Genus are species that carry pathogens and parasites that affect a wide range of animals, even humans. But the best documented and a case that hits close to home is this of EHD and Blue tongue.

A few years ago I read a little bit about it after seeing pictures of 5 bucks, all 8 points or better all still in velvet and dead beside the river back in Shenandoah county. As I researched it made sense that I hadn't been seeing the number of deer I was used to and when I checked a few farm ponds on friends properties they all had carcasses around them. It had been an unusually hot summer but a very wet spring. This led to an abundance of these biting midges as they rely on still water to breed in but as the summer got hot water was scarce and deer and the disease carrying insects congregated to the remaining ponds and slow moving parts of the river. Here they sucked the blood of the thirsty deer and transmitted the virus and disease to the unfortunate ungulates.


Both ailments cause the deer to swell in some areas and often become lazy or depressed, most deer that die will do so in or near water as their tongue swells are they are unable to drink and die from dehydration. Out west, and the eastern part of Virginia have this issue much worst and even in bad years most herds lose less than 25% of their total numbers but records show losses over 50% of populations have occured.

When frosting begins as temperatures drop these biting midges die, it is still unknown how the viruses exist over the winter without their hosts but they do, and are always laying in wait for the right circumstances to cause another outbreak. Attempts to control these midges with pesticides have proved unsuccessful and the only proven method of controlling its spread are to maintain a healthy deer herd, as in not too densely populated. Studies are being done now to determine the effect man made ponds and livestock pens have as they are breeding grounds for the Culicoidni.

Saying I hate these bugs may be a bit much, but they certainly don't have my appreciation. Culicoides Sonorensis is the main culprit here in the United States, sadly I haven't found one to put into my kill jar.