CHAPTER VII. 



THE CHIRONOMW.-E. 



The ChironomidcB^ or, as they are popularly called, "the Midges," are 

 a family extremely rich in species but poor in genera. In all 

 probability we know but a very small proportion of the species 

 indigenous to England, although Verrall enumerates as many as 

 26S, besides a large number of reputed ones. There seems, however, 

 to be some doubt as to the authenticity of many of the records. 

 Walker describes as many as 224 species of Chironomus, 82 of 

 Ceratopogon, and 20 of other genera, 326 in all. This number has 

 already been reduced to 268, and many of these we are not at all 

 certain as to their true identification. The small size of many of 

 these " midges," the difficulty of preservation and identification has 

 hindered their study, little or nothing having been done in this 

 country, until recently, when Mr. Verrall has worked through them. 



The family Chironomidas originally contained the old genera 

 Chiroiionius, Taiiypiis, and Ceratopogon of Meigen, to which were 

 afterwards added Diamesa, Mg., Corynoneura^ Wtz., and Clunio, 

 Hal., and more recently Van der Wulp has separated off the new 

 genera Cricotopus, Orthocladiiis, Camptocladius, Tanyiarsus, 

 Ejirycnemics, and Aletriocnemiis, all represented in England. The 

 genus HydrobiEiius of Fries may also possibly be represented by a 

 single species ; the same may be said of Schiner's Thalassomyia. 

 Not only is this family extremely rich in species, but in numbers 

 also, many of the commoner forms appearing in immense swarms, 

 the accounts of them that come from the tropics are marvellous. 



By far the larger number appear just before sunset and shortly 

 after, they all, and especially the more delicate coloured ones, prefer 

 the latter part of the day for their revels in the air. 



Chironomidae may be taken anywhere, but by far the most 

 successful hunting grounds are around pieces of water, many of the 

 larvae being aquatic in their habits. The development of one, C. 

 plumosus, has been fully dealt with by various embryologists and 



