Suffering from No-see-ums

I've managed to go the whole summer with nary a bug bite, but Friday I visited an archaeological site on Johnson's Island, home of a Civil War Prisoner Depot. I think I've been attacked by a battalion of angry rebs--No-See-Ums, so named because they've infiltrated your clothing before you've noticed them, and you didn't think to put on any insect repellent.

There are over 4,000 species of biting midges in the Ceratopogonidae family, and over 1,000 in just one genus, Culicoides. The distribution of midges in the genus Culicoides is world-wide; 47 species are known to occur in Florida. Species belonging to the genus Leptoconops occur in the tropics, sub-tropics, the Caribbean, and some coastal areas of southeast Florida.

Breeding areas can be very varied depending on the particular species. Areas with substantial salt marsh habitat are major producers of many biting midge species. Additional sources for some species, like the bluetongue virus vector Culicoides sonorensis Wirth and Jones, include highly organic soil that is wet but not underwater such as those found with high manure loads in swine, sheep and cattle farming operations.More

Knees, elbows, chest and toes
I’m itching all over.
Some Cutter’s I needed
God only knows

Is it ghosts of the dead
Getting revenge?
Or too much history
Going through my head?

Midges also enjoy a charmed life in very cold climates. Seem to like penguin poop. Columbus Dispatch