Weird Circular Spots~What Could It Be?

It’s spring time and your dogs are out and about having fun doing whatever they may be doing at the time. You get home, they roll over on their back and you see this……

Photo Credit – Layla

Photo Credit – Layla

You freak out because they are all over the abdomen and down the thighs, you wonder what the heck they could be, you never seen anything like them before. They are circular, looks like a ring so you think this must be ringworm, or could it be a skin pyoderma, or worse could it be lyme disease it looks like it has a bulls eye.

Photo Credit – Griff

Still wondering what these weird circular spots are? Well they are caused by the Black Fly also known as Buffalo Gnat or Turkey Gnat.

Photo Credit – Oklahoma State University

It is the female Black Fly that does all the harm. They need to ingest a blood meal to complete the development of her eggs. When she bites she will inject saliva into the skin that humans claim is highly irritating and itchy as well as swelling.

The life span of the Black Fly is fairly short only 2-3 weeks.

They are most active mid May-July.

I’ve found with my own dogs that they aren’t bothered by the bites and they go away any where’s from 12-48 hours.

Photo Credit – Gambler

Here are some interesting facts taken from Mosquito Magnet:

Deceased farm animals have been found along streambeds and riverbeds, the victims of large swarms of Black Flies. It is felt these bloodsucking insects cause toxemia or anaphylactic shock in the animals. In some cases, rapid blood loss may also have been a cause of the death. An animal may breathe in the flies through its nostrils in such large amounts that suffocation of the animal results.

Animal victims of Black Flies have included horses, cows, birds, hogs, sheep, turkeys and chickens, and even dogs and cats.

Children are often the targets of these bloodsucking insects while nearby adults may not be bothered by the Black Flies at all.

River blindness, or onchocerciasis, can be found in Africa, Mexico, Latin America, and some countries of South America.

By removing pollutants in our streams and rivers, we are actually creating inviting breeding grounds for Black Flies. (But we still must continue to clean up our streams and rivers despite that fact!)

Black Flies are known to travel up to 10 miles from their breeding sites in search of a bloodmeal.

Black Flies seem to prefer the head area of its bloodmeal host, although these bloodsucking insects will also bite under clothing.

Black Flies are attracted to humans largely through the carbon dioxide we exhale, but these bloodsucking insects are also attracted by dark colored clothing, perfumes and sweat.

The smell of exhaled carbon dioxide also attracts these bloodsucking insects to livestock and other mammals.

Over 250 species of Black Flies have been found in North America, while there are about 2,000 species throughout the world.

Humans can develop severe allergic reactions to the bite of a female Black Fly, requiring medical attention.

Black Fly larvae are considered an important part of the food chain of streams and river

You can also read about Black Flies in the Merck Veterinary Manuel by clicking here.

Disclaimer: I am not a Veterinarian I only play one  on facetube. Reading this article shouldn’t take the place of going to a Veterinarian if there are any concerns at all or if things change or don’t get better. Heck if you don’t go to the vet I don’t get paid and then I would starve and I wouldn’t like that as I love to eat.