And, Now for the Rest of the Story of the Defense of Wilmington: What Are Gallnippers?

.
In the last post, I mentioned the American regiment at Greenfield, in defense of Wilmington, NC, in 1813, as being plagued by mosquitoes and "Gallnippers."  Whereas I am very familiar with mosquitoes (today, when I parked the boat trailer over by Kora's for the summer, I was accosted by one huge bunch of mosquitoes rising out of the grass.   It reminded me of those World War II movies when you had all those bombers and fighter in the air).

But, I was not aware of gallnippers, but figured they were something like a mosquito.

They were.

Gallnippers are especially prevalent in Florida.  It is a name given to Psorophora Ciliata, and especially large species of mosquitoes.  Adults can be 1/2 inch long and have a reputation as aggressive biters with a marked preference for human blood.

The males are harmless, but, oh those females.

--Brock-Perry
.