Fungus Gnat Life Cycle
- The life cycle of the fungus gnat begins with an egg. Eggs are laid in clusters of 20 or 30 in crevices in moist soil that is rich in organic material and hatch four to six days after being laid.
- Each egg will hatch, producing a larva, which will feed, opportunistically, on an available food source for 12 to 14 days.
- The larva will then spin a silk pupal chamber and metamorphose into an adult, which will emerge four to six days later.
- The adult gnat will then begin to feed on fungal growths within the local environment. Adult fungus gnats do not feed on other plants.
- The adult fungus gnat is fully mature at this time and capable of mating. Once the gnats mate, the female will lay her eggs, beginning the life cycle again.