54 Bulletin Wisconsin Natural History Society [Vol. 11, Nos. 1-2 
snow, when the flakes fall thickest, or to the dust of the earth. ” 
As to the vitality of the midge, even the cyanide bottle may take 
five minutes to kill them. Its vitality is also shown by the fact, 
as noted before that some of the midges remain alive and moving 
two days after being caught in a spider web washed down by rain, 
without reckoning how long previous to the rain the flies had been 
snared in the web. Morley 2 quotes English writers in “Country 
Side” as observing swarms of midges or mosquitoes, May 31, 
1909; a hot June 28 (Gilbert White); a hot July 12, 1912; a hot 
day in August, 1909; and a cool twilight, 55° F., August 7, 1912. 
This shows that midges attract attention at similar times and 
temperatures in the British Isles. The quoted 55° F. indicates 
that, later in the season, midges fly at lower temperatures. Hu- 
midity may prove to be more of a controlling factor than ordi- 
nary temperatures, since the females require to lay their eggs 
near water. In the above case, Morley says it was a damp 
evening. 
SPECIES OF MIDGES AND CONTEMPORARY INSECTS 
Regretting my lack of taxonomic training, I withheld these 
notes for three years, hoping that the Museum could get the 
specimens determined, but no opportunity has as yet offered. 
The following notes, however, should be of sufficient interest bio- 
nomically to warrant releasing them for the printer. 
One nile green male Chironomid with dark tipped abdomen 
was seen on May 20, but other than this, only black species had 
been previously seen. On May 24, two smaller species were 
noted, the larger of the two being greenish; also a Stratiomyid 
(. Allognosta sp.), but the majority of the individuals were still 
this early black species. 
The evening of May 27, following the cold spell of May 25 
to 27, the catch of a larger variety of Chironomids included four 
large midges of a very delicate white or straw-color and two small 
ones of the same color, two other small straw-colored ones with 
a banded appearance, four small ones of a light brown color, and 
five of a light green color, besides 16 of the black ones to be dis- 
cussed as the commonest of all. These numbers show the approxi- 
* The Cause of “Humming in the Air,” by Claude Morley. Ent. Mo. Mag., Nov., 1912. 
