eli5: why do gnat swarms hover over random spots?

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I occasionally see huge swarms of what I assume are gnats flying in random clouds over grass or sidewalks. I thought this was common everywhere but I brought it up to some friends who live out of state in random conversations and they had no idea what I was talking about. I don’t know if it’s the humidity or heat of where I live but it’s feels like it’s completely random as I usually don’t realize the cloud is there until I walk through it and get covered in tiny bugs.

Anyone know what these swarm clouds are and why they do that? Bonus points if you can also tell me why I occasionally find the entire swarm alive crawling on the outside of my car?

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6 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

I’ve noticed that they tend to swarm over lightly colored things, like a paper plate on an outdoor picnic bench or a white table out in the sun.

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