Biting black flies spread across Spain
Sunday, August 19, 2018 @ 6:45 PM
The 'black fly' (Simulium trifasciatum) is spreading across Spain, joining the Asiatic wasp and the tiger mosquito as one of the country's principal insect pests.
The black fly was first detected along the shores of the river Ebro in 2006, and shortly afterwards made its presence known in various different parts of Aragon, where some 2000 people had to receive emergency medical attention, constituting the first official plague of the insect in Spain.
The following year, 28,500 people in Aragon required medical attention because of black fly bites and now the people of Butarque (Madrid) have become the latest victims of a black fly plague, because of their proximity to the river Manzanares, which appears to be the ideal habitat for this aggressive insect.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com