THE HARDY MIDGE 



A COLUMN of midges dancing in the sunshine is a 

 summer-like spectacle, and, speaking in a general 

 way, nothing is more characteristic of winter than 

 the dormancy of insect life. But several midges 

 of the group known to science as Chironomus are 

 exceptions to the rule which sends insects out of 

 sight for half the year. There is not a roadside 

 wall which is not the home of countless thousands 

 of them. If the weather is cold and frosty they 

 retire to its crevices, which afford excellent 

 stabling ; if the sun shines long enough to impart 

 the feeblest glow of heat to the atmosphere, out 

 they come and dance dance like mad. They have 

 little else to do, and they do it very well. 



This midge is one of the most insignificant of 

 winged creatures, yet it has virtues which almost 

 entitle it to a respectful study. It is the good 

 brother of the story, and it might advertise, as 

 men of conscious rectitude troubled with bad 

 relations sometimes do, " No connection with 

 the other people of the same name." It does not 

 bite. Its morals may be bad, but its ethics are 

 admirable, and the story of them is one of the 

 most curious in evolutionary science. If one of 

 these dancing midges is examined it will be found 

 3 



