🚨 ARTHROPOD OF THE DAY 🚨

Biting midges can be a nuisance to campers, fishermen, hunters, hikers, gardeners, and others who spend time outdoors during early morning and evenings, and even during the daytime on cloudy days when winds are calm. They will readily bite humans; the bites are irritating, painful, and can cause long-lasting painful lesions for some people.

A common observation upon experiencing a bite from this insect is that something is biting, but the person suffering cannot see what it is. Biting midges are sometimes incorrectly referred to as sand flies. Sand flies are insects that belong to a different biological group and should not be confused with the biting midges.

Biting midges, primarily the species Culicoides sonorensis, are responsible for transmission of bluetongue virus to sheep and cattle in the U.S. Bluetongue is a serious disease of ruminants. Bluetongue viruses are found world-wide and are transmitted by different Culicoides species in different regions. Many countries that are bluetongue free prohibit the movement of livestock from bluetongue endemic regions. The annual economic damage in lost trade is in the millions of dollars.