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Some of the local Fallbrook fauna - birds, lizards, snakes and other interesting
critters
Butterflies, Moths, and other insects are in the
insect photo gallery
Biting Insects
- Black fly - (Simuliidae) - aka buffalo gnat
- These are horrible, tiny, black, biting flies. They are fierce daytime
biting flies and from what I've read (online anyway) seem to be everywhere in
the world! They can make outdoor life miserable late spring through fall in my
area in Fallbrook, especially in late afternoon. Their bites leave itchy sore
welts that can last for days
- Chigger - (trombicula alfreddugesi) - aka chiggers
- Chiggers are insidious, they may be worse than the buffalo gnats -
with the buffalo gnat you know right away when you've been bitten and you can
see them circling you trying to get in a bite. You can't see chiggers and you
can be happily walking around for a couple of hours before noticing the
symptoms. Chiggers are mites that inject a digestive fluid containing enzymes
that cause skin cells to rupture. The fluids from the skin cells are then
consumed as food. The injected enzymes cause the skin to become red, swollen and
itchy. The itch may last for several days and will persist even after the
chigger has detached from the skin.
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