What in God's name is a no-see-um?

Question

I was just surfing the Pail when I came across this topic of "no-see-ums" and their bites. My question is, what in the world is a no-see-um? Have we become so culturally afraid of what people might say that we cannot call a mosquito a mosquito, or is this a real insect that I just don't know a thing about?

Answer 1

A no see um is basically just a specific type of biting gnat.

They are different from mosquitoes and are mostly gnats that bite.

The no see ums are really tiny and are hard to see which is why they were given the name no see ums.

The No See Ums are a specific kind of gnat.

The no see ums are very small, at only about 1/16” long, and as such are able to fly through many window screens and similarly small screens.

Mosquitoes: Much larger than the other two, mosquitoes are more easily recognizable.

Ceratopogonidae is a family of flies commonly known as no-see-ums, or biting midges, generally 1–3 millimeters in length.

The family includes more than 5,000 species, distributed worldwide, apart from the Antarctic and the Arctic.