Make no mistake; I do my share of swatting during spring bug season. However, as a biologist, I do it with a touch of respect. While blackflies can be bothersome, spread disease, and repel tourists who support our local economies, they are also remarkably diverse, courageous, ecologically important and just plain cool.
The term “blackfly” refers to more than 2,000 species worldwide, and roughly 90 percent of the North American species never bite humans. Surveys conducted in the Adirondacks alone have and , although some of those species are more likely to bite than others. For instance, and may swarm you for a sniff, but they normally prefer the blood of other mammals or even birds.
