| OCR Text |
Show 195 Nonbiting Gnats Five species of gnats of the genus Tendipes have been collected on the marshes near the Great Salt Lake-- Tendipes utdhensis Malloch, T. plumosuSy Linn., T. tentans Fabr., T. deoovus Johan. and T. fumidus Johan. Six related genera of gnats have also been collected, each represented by one species. Tendipes utdhensis is the most abundant and annoying of these species with T. plumosus second in importance and very similar to T. utdhensis. Adults of T. utdhensis appear in February or March and are present until freezing temperatures in November or December. Population peaks are attained in May and June and again in September and October with minor peaks in July and August. On warm, calm days swarms of these gnats extend for miles in marshes near the Lake. During the daylight hours, great numbers of these gnats swarm and crawl over everything in the area creating considerable annoyance to man and other animals. Nonbiting Gnat Control Tendiped gnats are an important source of food for many species of birds and other animals on the marshes. However, their natural enemies are apparently inadequate to reduce their numbers significantly. Control measures to abate Tendiped gnats have not been extensively applied on the marshes. Information on the life history, habitat and behavior of these gnats indicates control measures successful in abating related noxious insects on the marshes can be modified to abate Tendiped gnats. These measures include water management, shoreline modification and the use of selected insecticides, particularly adulticides. |
