buffalo gnat

See black fly.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

buffalo gnat

(Animals) any of various small North American blood-sucking dipterous insects of the genus Simulium and related genera: family Simuliidae. Also called: black fly

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

buffalo gnat - small blackish stout-bodied biting fly having aquatic larvae; sucks the blood of birds as well as humans and other mammals

black fly, blackfly

gnat - any of various small biting flies: midges; biting midges; black flies; sand flies

genus Simulium, Simulium - type genus of the Simuliidae: blackflies

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

Skirting along the north fork for a day or two, excessively annoyed by musquitoes and buffalo gnats, they reached, in the evening of the 17th, a small but beautiful grove, from which issued the confused notes of singing birds, the first they had heard since crossing the boundary of Missouri.

View in context

First, a female buffalo gnat of the genus Simulium bites you and in the process deposits her infective larvae.

River blindness (onchocerciasis)

The same goes for chiggers and fleas, and even if a starving buffalo gnat slips through your outer bug suit, it won't be able to bite through the Rynoskin and remove a chunk of your epidermis.

Bug armor

All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional.