Midge
Midges | |
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A biting midge feeding on blood through an artificial membrane for insect rearing | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Diptera |
Suborder: | Nematocera |
Families | |
See text |
A midge is any small
Examples of families that include species of midges include:[1]
- Blephariceridae, net-winged midges
- Cecidomyiidae, gall midges
- Ceratopogonidae, biting midges (also known as no-see-ums or punkies in North America[2] and sandflies[3] in Australia)
- Chaoboridae, phantom midges
- Chironomidae, non-biting midges[4] (also known as muckleheads,[5] muffleheads[6] or lake flies[7] in the Great Lakes region of North America)
- Deuterophlebiidae, mountain midges
- Dixidae, meniscus midges
- Scatopsidae, dung midges
- Thaumaleidae, solitary midges
Examples
The Ceratopogonidae (biting midges) include serious blood-sucking pests, feeding both on humans and other mammals. Some of them spread the livestock diseases known as blue tongue and African horse sickness – other species though, are at least partly nectar feeders, and some even suck insect bodily fluids.[8]
Many midges are known for having symbiotic relationships with many other organisms. These can be commensal, parasitic or mutualistic relationships. Many of the commensal relationships are found within the family Chironomidae.[9]
Other ceratopogonid midges are major pollinators of Theobroma cacao (cocoa tree). Having natural pollinators has beneficial effects in both agricultural and biological products because it increases crop yield and also density of predators of the midges (still beneficial to all parties).[10]
The term "midge" is a vague term that refers to a large and diverse group of organisms. Although many are known as "bloodsuckers," there are many different roles that they play in their respective ecosystems.[9] There is, for example, no objective basis for excluding the Psychodidae from the list, and some of them (or midge-like taxa commonly included in the family, such as Phlebotomus) are blood-sucking pests and disease vectors.
Most midges, apart from the gall midges (Cecidomyiidae), are aquatic during the larval stage. Some Cecidomyiidae (e.g., the Hessian fly) are considered significant pests of some plant species. The larvae of some Chironomidae contain hemoglobin and are sometimes referred to as bloodworms.[11]
Non-biting midge flies are commonly considered a minor nuisance around artificially-created bodies of water.[12]
See also
References
- ^ Merritt, R. W.; Cummins, K. W., eds. (1996). An Introduction to the Aquatic Insects of North America. Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company.
- ^ BugGuide
- ^ "BITING MIDGES OR "SANDFLIES" IN THE NT" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-01-22. Retrieved 2015-01-22.
- ^ "The Complete Guide to Midges". 5 July 2021. Retrieved 2023-06-21.
- ^ "Bug invasion! Muckleheads caught on radar swarming back to NE Ohio". fox8.com. 2018-06-04. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- ^ "What exactly are all these pesky midges? Entertaining video on the insects that swarm Lake Erie". cleveland.com. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
- ^ "Why you should never smash lake flies and other facts about the annual Lake Winnebago insect hatch". Appleton Post Crescent. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
- ISBN 1-86872-713-0.
- ^ ISSN 0046-5070.
- PMID 28019052.
- ISBN 978-0-306-47671-6.
- ^ Apperson, Charles; Waldvogel, Michael; Bambara, Stephen (2006). "Biology and Control of Non-biting Aquatic Midges". Department of Entomology, North Carolina Cooperative Extension.
Further reading
Schröder, Oskar; Cavanaugh, Kirstin K.; Schneider, Julio V.; Schell, Tilman; Bonada, Núria; Seifert, Linda; Pauls, Steffen U. (2021). "Genetic data support local persistence in multiple glacial refugia in the montane net‐winged midge Liponeura cinerascens cinerascens (Diptera, blephariceridae)". Freshwater Biology. 66 (5): 859–868. .
Huerta, Heron; Grogan, William L. JR (2021). "A new species of predaceous midge in the genus Stilobezzia Kieffer from Mexico (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)". Zootaxa. 4908 (2): 297–300.
Pinto, Thandy Junio da Silva; Moreira, Raquel Aparecida; Silva, Laís Conceição Menezes da; Yoshii, Maria Paula Cardoso; Goulart, Bianca Veloso; Fraga, Priscille Dreux; Montagner, Cassiana Carolina; Daam, Michiel Adriaan; Espindola, Evaldo Luiz Gaeta (2021). "Impact of 2,4-D and fipronil on the tropical midge Chironomus sancticaroli (Diptera: Chironomidae)". Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 209: 111778.