The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 10 letter word HORSEFLIES
I've seen this crossword clue in Financial Times
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More clues leading to the result HORSEFLIES
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Nasty little creatures" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case nasty little creatures = horseflies.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does HORSEFLIES mean?
HORSEFLIES noun- Any of several medium to large flies, of the family Tabanidae, that suck the blood of mammals (not to be confused with Stomoxys calcitrans, the stable fly, or dog fly).