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Are gnats attracted to eyeballs, or are those near our eyes simply the ones we notice most?

Mike Follows
Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, UK

The term gnat is a loose description for many species of tiny flying insects. I was surprised to learn that some entomologists exclude tiny biting insects like the black fly (Simuliidae) and biting midges (Ceratopogonidae) from their definition of what a gnat is.

Eye gnats, or eye flies, are part of the genus Liohippelates in the Americas and Siphunculina in parts of Asia. These are part of a biological family of insects known as grass…