I have spent the better part of this evening trying to understand exactly, precisely what the difference is between gnats and mosquitoes.

Many websites visited, one contradicting the other. Grrrrr!

What I have learned are the following contradictions:

1. Gnats are a type of mosquito.
2. Gnats are not mosquitoes because they don't bite.
3. Some gnats bite; others don't
4. Gnats never eat because all they do is mate and lay eggs.


Do you see what I mean? The information is all jumbled up and contradictory. I know:

1. Gnats, flies, mosquitoes and midges are all grouped under Diptera. They have two wings, six legs, and so on.
2. If you look at a photograph of a wood gnat (1/16th of an inch) blown up, it looks like a mosquito. No joke. Tiny, little annoying thing that looks like a flying poppyseed darting at your eyebrows, and it actually looks like a mosquito.

So, I'm aggravated. I've done my homework and I still don't know whether some gnats are biting gnats, and, if they are biting gnats, then why aren't they simply miniature mosquitoes? What's the diff?

One website will NOT do the trick because what is read there will be contradicted somewhere else. What's that expression about straining gnats?

If anybody knows for sure why gnats are different from mosquitoes, thanks very much for stating so here.

WW