Leptoconops kerteszi facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Leptoconops kerteszi |
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Leptoconops
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L. kerteszi
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| Leptoconops kerteszi Kieffer, 1908
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The Leptoconops kerteszi is a tiny insect often called the Bodega black gnat. It's a type of biting midge, part of the Ceratopogonidae family. These small gnats like to feed on different animals. You can find them in countries like the United States, Egypt, and Tunisia.
About the Bodega Black Gnat
When you look at this gnat without a microscope, it seems black. But if you look closely under a microscope, it actually appears brown. Its head and the middle part of its body, called the thorax, are dark brown. The back part of its body, the abdomen, is a lighter brown.
The gnat's wings are clear, like glass. However, when light shines on them while they are folded on its back, they can look white. Female gnats are about 2.5 to 3 mm (0.10 to 0.12 in) long. Male gnats are a bit bigger, about 3.5 to 4 mm (0.14 to 0.16 in) long, and are a lighter brown than the females.
This gnat's common name, Bodega black gnat, comes from Bodega Bay in California. This is where scientists first studied the species. However, it was first discovered and given its scientific name, Holoconops kerteszi, in Cairo, Egypt, in 1908.
Where They Live and What They Do
These gnats like to lay their eggs in the sand near lakes and marshes. Their favorite breeding spots are damp, sandy areas with no plants, usually where the water reaches at high tide. The baby gnats, called larvae, live in the top centimeter of this sandy water.
Adult Bodega black gnats feed on the blood of humans, farm animals, and birds. When they bite, it can cause a swollen area on the skin. Sometimes, this swelling might even have a clear liquid coming from it.
How Scientists Study Gnats
In 1967, scientists used a special tool to catch many of these gnats. This tool was a portable device powered by gasoline. It had a metal funnel instead of a regular suction tube.
This "insect suction sampler" helped scientists catch gnats flying around a person's head. The gnats were sucked through a mesh net into the funnel. This method helped entomologists, who are scientists who study insects, learn more about how many adult gnats were in an area.
