BANGOR DAILY NEWS • September 14, 2021
No, that’s not a snake. It’s a sciarid snake, a mass migration of hundreds or even thousands of fungus gnat larvae. One was spotted on a Litchfield lawn on Tuesday, a pretty rare sighting. Fungus gnats are tiny, thin flies in the Sciaridae family that feed on fungus and molds in the soil, according to Jim Dill, pest management specialist with University of Maine Cooperative Extension. “Some people say they are mimicking larger things like snakes so predators leave them alone,” Dill said. “But I’m not really sure fungus gnats are that smart.”