dark-winged fungus gnat

5928   There are hundreds of these in my house.  They are mainly around the windows in one main level room.  It is currently winter here in Kitchener Ontario however we just had record warm temperatures for February. They are only a few millimeters big.  Any help identifying is appreciated.  Thank you,  Marc  

This appears to be a dark-winged fungus gnat (Diptera: Sciaridae); see http://tinyurl.com/hlg9p8n for an image. Their larvae usually are found in very damp/wet soil having a high organic material content, and can cause damage to very tender plants. If you have house pants of any kind, avoid overwatering and allow the soil to dry out as much as practical between waterings, this should alleviate the problem.  Ed Saugstad, retired entomologist; Sinks Grove, WV.