the.com/gnat

proof that something the size of a typo can ruin a whole afternoon

means A gnat is any of various tiny flying insects, often appearing in swarms, that annoy you out of all proportion to their minuscule size.

from From Old English 'gnætt,' a word for small winged biting insects, with relatives across the old Germanic languages. The silent 'g' is a fossil — once actually pronounced, like the 'g' in 'gnaw,' it lingered in spelling long after English speakers stopped voicing it, leaving behind a word as quietly irritating to spell as the insect is to swat.

flight pattern
swarms aim straight for your eyes and ears
lifespan
some adults live only a week
swarm name
a cloud of gnats is called a ghost
appetite
females of biting species drink blood
sheer numbers
a single swarm can hold thousands
for instance

drosophila melanogaster — fruit fly used in 100+ years of genetic research, has 75% of human disease genes

anopheles gambiae — malaria mosquito responsible for millions of deaths across africa and tropical regions

ceratitis capitata — mediterranean fruit fly that devastates citrus crops in california and worldwide

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