Are these biting gnats? They aren't, by any chance, lovebugs?

Well... I don't *think* they are lovebugs, but I'm not sure. I don't have "lovebugs" in my little insect book here. Wonder if they go by another name? My husband is from Florida, and what they call lovebugs down there are larger, and are always seen "in two's", as in one on top of the other. These critters are not particularly loving to each other. :)

Karen

We're in a swarm of lovebugs here. I do believe that Gustav blew them inland to us. We had the same thing happen after Katrina. They almost always fly in twos stuck together and they are a vibrant black. I'm trying to paint my porch and I can't get much done for picking the things out of the wet paint!

If you are plagued with biting black gnats, I don't know how to get rid of them, but I have found that spraying my garden hat with repellant before putting it on helps to keep them out of my face. This works with mosquitoes too. We have what we call "no see ums" around here that are some kind of biting gnat. They give me a bit of sympathy for the Egyptians when Moses was saying "Let My People Go!"