THE MIDGES 



(Family Chironomidce.) 



The insects of this family, commonly known as "midges," 

 are small, delicate flies with simple wing venation and no ocelli. 

 The antennae of the males of most genera are strongly plumose, 

 and the flies themselves are frequently seen flying in swarms 

 with a dancing motion. When at rest the front legs of these 



flies are lifted and are used 

 as feelers. The larvae are 

 mainly aquatic, but some live 

 in decomposing matter and in 

 soft earth. They are soft- 

 skinned and worm-like in 

 form and frequently blood- 

 red in color. The aquatic 

 forms are usually found in 

 shallow pools and streams 

 and make larval cases of silk 

 and mud or decomposing 

 leaves; but some are found at 

 the bottom of lakes of great 

 depth, Professor S. I. Smith 

 having dredged them from the 

 bottom of Lake Superior at a 

 depth of nearly a thousand feet, 



Fig. 61. Chironomus sp.: a, b, larvae j 

 ^ egg 8 - (After Riley.) 



and Packard has found them 

 living in salt water in Salem 

 harbor. The larva of Chiron- 

 omus plumosus, figured herewith, abounds in great numbers in 

 the waters of Chautauqua Lake and other fresh water lakes of the 

 United States. These larvse form an important fish food but the 

 family has no other economic value. 



The flies abound in the spring, even before the snow has 

 left the ground. Dr. Williston has seen them in the Rocky 



110 



