Black Flies @ Scotty's Castle

Black flies in Death Valley???

Scotty's Castle is located at the northern end of Death Valley National Park. The house was built in the 1920's as a vacation home for an eccentric gold miner and a Chicago millionaire couple. Scotty's Castle is now run by the National Park Service.

Scotty's Castle is located in one of the driest places on earth yet during our last trip there we encountered hordes of biting black flies in one small area of the grounds. Black flies are normally associated with fast flowing rivers in wet environments. What's going on here?

Black flies need flowing water to develop. Black fly larvae are attached to solid surfaces, like rocks, and feed by filtering the water that flows around them.

Scotty's Castle is located near natural springs which support dense vegetation (see vegetation in the background of photo above) in this otherwise barren landscape. These springs were tapped to provide water for the home. So much water is available that some landscape features sport permanent flowing water, which supports a vibrant black fly population!

So that's the answer to another mystery of Death Valley and some insight into black fly biology. Black flies need flowing water but not a river. A small trickle will do so long as the water is clean.