224 



ELEMENTARY ENTOMOLOGY 



done toward the riddance of mosquitoes in thickly settled com- 

 munities by destroying their breeding places by draining or filling 

 the pools and by oiling the surface of small ponds, rain barrels, etc. 

 True midges (Chironomidae). Many of these look much like 

 mosquitoes, the males having the plumose antennae and being of 

 about the same size, but the wing-veins are simpler and fewer in 



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FIG. 353. A midge (Chironomus sp.)- (Greatly enlarged) 

 <7, adult male ; b, pupa ; c, larva. (After Felt) 



number, and la'ck the scales. Most of the larvae are aquatic, being of 

 very long, threadlike worms which live in the slime and decaying 

 vegetation at the bottom of pools and streams, where they feed on 

 vegetable matter. Many are a bright red in color and have been 

 called blood- worms. The minute punkies, or ' no-see-ums," are 

 among the worst enemies of the hunter and fisherman, and one 

 must have a thick skin to withstand their bloodthirsty attacks. 



