#non-biting midge

[coolbugs]

Bug of the Day

Happy Fly Day Friday!! Please enjoy the excellent wing patterning on this tiny, non-biting midge, Psectrotanypus dyari.

#Psectrotanypus dyari #Psectrotanypus #non-biting midge #midge #insect #fly #Diptera #bug of the day #BotD #fly day Friday #FDF #Chironomidae

[jonnysinsectcatalogue]

Midges - Family: Chironomidae | Species unknown

After last week’s video post showcasing these insects and their dancing formations over flowing water, this week we’ll attempt to get a closer look at them. It’s funny how the insects seem of reasonable size when you actually hold or see one, but when looking at them against the sky, one could be mistaken to thinking that it’s just birds flying in the distance. Each speck represents one Midge flying around so there’s probably 50 or so in picture 2. Those are rather small, and actually very close, but not all Midges are so tiny. Some are larger, and there is a size difference between females and males. Based on what I’ve read females are larger, but the males have plumose antennae. More than a decoration for their appearance, they (similar to Moths) use those feathered antennae to help them find a mate. Looking at the individual I’ve caught in Pictures 1 and 10, you can get a closer look at the features. Take note of the elongated body, shortened wings, feathered antennae and the positioning of the front legs. Though a bit roughed up from the capture, this hardy fellow was able to fly away after a few pictures. These are non-biting Midges, which may imply that there are biting Midges...and yes there are. Those belong to the family Ceratopogonidae and some do bite humans.

As said earlier, they are drawn to bodies of water and moist environments as those places are beneficial places for the placing of eggs. The adult Midges need to get to work quickly as they usually live for a few weeks, if that long. Depending on the specie, they may not even feed when they are adults (some take honeydew or nectar), so the timing is quite urgent. Fortunately, they can mitigate most risks with simultaneous emergence (again, it depends on the specie) and the emerge of massive swarms. While annoying for boaters, bikers and visitors of a waterfront, the sheer numbers of Midges allow more than enough to survive to ready the next generation, even if a few get caught in spider webs or eaten by other predators. They lack defenses aside from their flying prowess, and since they’re often mistaken for Mosquitoes, they can be eaten or swatted at with little thought. While similar in appearance to Mosquitoes and closely related to them, these non-biting Midges don’t have a taste for blood and have a few differences that you can use to tell them apart, all of which can be found in the first paragraph of this post. The front legs should stand out immediately, and as such both insect groups have different postures when landed. 

Pictures were taken on May 11 and 15, 2022 with a Google Pixel 4.

#jonny’s insect catalogue #ontario insect #fly #midge #midge swarm #black midge #diptera #insect #toronto #may2022 #2022 #non-biting midge #non biting midge #unidentified #entomology #nature #invertebrates

[nishawolfe]

Non-biting Midge

Photo taken in Millersville, MD 04/04/2022 Photography by Nisha Wolfe

#Non-biting Midge #Chironomidae #Millersville #Maryland #MD #Photography #My Photography #insect #04/04/2022

[onenicebugperday]

@uttotheegg submitted: Hope im doin this right lol Found this one in [removed] (not sure how specific you need, also pls remove location) wish i could have gotten a better photo before they flew off!

It does help to have at least a specific state, but either way, this fella looks like a male midge in the genus Chironomus.

#insects #bugs #submission #fly #diptera #midge #non biting midge #chironomidae #Chironomus

[monsterboyjunction]

As someone who has always had a passion for animals, and got into bug watching at a young age because of the lack of other wildlife I could actively find and watch as a kid, the world really does feel so much more full when you care for bugs and see them as animals rather than some other category.

There's a ton of midges on my window and like. My first instinct was to be a bit miffed, to find it 'gross', that they were blocking my view. But then like. I remembered that they are alive. That each of these teeny lil guys is a living creature, just vibing and living its tiny lil life. And it just made me feel better.

Life is everywhere!! You just gotta look. And the world feels less lonely when you remember these itty bitty guys are here with you...

#bugs #insects #we have so many non-biting midges out rn #and like yeah they can be annoying because there's SO MANY and walking can be a pain #but also wao they're just lil dudes. doing their best. i love them. muwah.

[otaharuo]

ユスリカ、Chironomidae、2月24日、愛知県

#insect #non biting midges

[howgaytobequeer]

A little photobomber while I was photographing mushrooms. Little fellow was nice enough to let me take a macro and everything!

#original posts #midges #wildlife #insects #non biting midges #my photos #mushrooms #wildlife photography

[sandpaperoctopi]

good night at the bug light

met a black webspinner friend

and a thread-legged bug. the first I've found in the yard

green lacewings and two different species of brown lacewing

and this guy

#there were also some moths and spiders #and silverfish and non-biting midges #photography #animals #insects #bugs #embioptera #webspinner #black webspinner #hemiptera #heteroptera #assassin bug #thread-legged bug #neuroptera #lacewings #green lacewing #brown lacewing #leafhopper

[rattyexplores]

Public Bathroom bugs

Unidenitfied, order Psocodea

Microstola ammoscia

Unidentified, order Ephemeroptera

Unidentified, subfamily Chironominae

06/07/22

#Psocodea #Microstola ammoscia #Ephemeroptera #Chironominae #Mayflies #Chironomidae #Non-biting Midges #Nematocera #Nematoceran Flies #Culicomorpha #Diptera #Flies #midges #Lepidoptera #moths #mothblr #Lithosiini #Lichen Moths #Arctiinae #Noctuoidea #Unidentified #invertblr #invertebrates #Arthropods #Arthropoda #nature #insectblr #bugblr #insects #insecta

[crevicedwelling]

Hey! This might be a kind of stupid (or insensitive) question but I was wondering about mosquitos. I’m actually pretty chill with most insects but they bite, spread diseases and a whole host of other things. I know there are a lot of scientists working right now to reduce mosquito fertility rates which I’m broadly supportive of, but I’m not sure what the unintended consequences are. Like….. would we as a species be okay if mosquitos were eradicated?

it’s entirely a valid question, and a point I hear raised a lot. the answer depends on on how far-reaching your question was intended to be:

an important thing to understand is that there are over 3500 species of mosquito, and of those, only 88 are known to transmit diseases to humans, with about 200 more that potentially could become human disease vectors (Yee et al.) most mosquitoes drink nectar—both males and females—but females typically (but not in all species/forms) require a blood meal from mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, or even other arthropods and invertebrates.

if all mosquitoes were “eradicated,” there would undoubtedly be some very bad effects on the environment, although in the utmost selfish view I’m not fully sure how long they’d take to affect humans.

many plants are pollinated by small flies (like cacao! you can thank biting midges for all your chocolate) and certainly some only by mosquitoes. mosquito pollinated plants likely include many in tropical rainforests, where mutualisms between tiny, unusual species are very common, and oddly enough in the Arctic, where soggy summers create a whole lot of mosquitoes.

likewise mosquitoes are likely an important part of the diets of many bats, birds, spiders, dragonflies, other flies, and fish that might eat the larvae, among many others (including mosquitoes that eat other mosquitoes as larvae, like the beautiful Toxorhynchites). the negative effect on these animals in turn could affect their predators, or all the other ecosystem. if all mosquitoes disappeared, there would probably be significant upheaval across global environments, although I don’t know enough to say exactly what the end result would be. making all mosquitoes go extinct would be a very bad idea though, so it’s a good thing humans have no reason or capability to do that.

but people probably don’t have the 3,000 other mosquitoes in mind when they’re trying to control the flies, it’s that 88 to 300-ish bunch that bite humans and transmit diseases. first off, any genetic/sterility control method that targets non-native mosquitoes is most likely to have only good effects. non-native mosquitoes are reduced, people are bitten less. good on both counts. (it’s still possible certain things might be upset, such as if native species have adapted to use non-native mosquitoes, or if the non-native ones were outcompeting some even worse species. don’t know enough to say.) In many places, this is precisely what’s happening, with Aedes being sterilized, modified, or infected with bacteria that cause some reduction in offspring where it is invasive.

as for eradicating mosquitoes in their native range… it gets a bit tricky. I’m not enough of an ecologist or mosquito biologist to give a clear answer here. I also don’t know if there’s consideration of using control methods like you mentioned on species in their native range.

your question was about making mosquitoes go extinct, though, so I’ll focus on that.

would losing a few species of mosquito that are particularly dangerous to humans result in ecological upheaval? I don’t know. ecology is vastly complicated and when people make big decisions involving pests, we can often make problems way worse, like all the times a predator was introduced and started killing off things we didn’t think they would (this has happened with mosquito control, by the way). extinction only goes one way. I’d say in a hypothetical situation where I could just *poof* away an entire mosquito species, I probably wouldn’t do it. we just don’t know enough about the world yet to make decisions like that.

that’s not to say there aren’t ecologically and human-friendly ways to solve the issue of mosquito-borne disease—reduction of manmade breeding pools, careful biological control, targeted, safe pesticides—and maybe in some cases, sterilization or genetic control are part of the solution. but if it comes down to extinction or not, we’d better consider things very carefully before swatting at entire species without knowing what might happen after.

some of the links to the articles I used to research a bit for this post. read them if you'd like, they're fascinating!

#mosquito #bugs #ecology

[transmurderbug]

🍂Weekly Tag Wednesday! 🍂

Look at me going at it after being AWOL for like a month. 👀 Thank you Nosho @creepkinginc, Becki @francesrose3, Jess @jrooc, Kaka @stocious and Willow @ian-galagher for the tags! 🥰

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

(stealing Willow's format, because it's pretty and neat)

Name: Sky

Location: In a cave, underneath a pretty rock somewhere. 🪨

And now for the randomness! tell me your most and least favorites of: (brave to assume I'll be able to choose just one...)

Candy?

Most - I've always like sour Haribo of all kinds. Also any candy or chocolate bars. Least - The very soft, cotton like gummies (gumdrop?)

Seasons?

Most - Autumn where it's not cold yet, but everything's pretty. Also snowy winter. Least - That very ugly time when autumn is turning into winter and everything is sad.

Hot beverage?

Most - Cocoa or hot chocolate. Least - Green tea.

Cold beverage?

Most - Most sodas and coffee (I drink cold coffee even if it's freezing) Least - Tonic. Blah.

Colours?

Most - Black, blue, green and orange. Least - Pink.

Vegetables?

Most - I will devour any vegetable and I love them with all my heart as long as they are raw. (I'd also say tomatoes, because they are one of the best things ever, but they're technically a fruit. Also potatoes - raw - but they aren't vegetables either. They deserve the honorable mention though) Least - Most if they are cooked/baked/went through any kind of heat treatment. But mostly spinach.

Traditional foods from your country?

Most - Oh wow. We have so many and I love most. But maybe... lángos, chitterling-sausage, kürtőskalács, pig feet stew - okay I have to stop, but I have so many more. I need to put together a list... Least - We have a chitterling that's made with liver. I never liked those. Or stuffed cabbage.

Insects?

Most - Okay, now hear me out. Any insect is instantly my best friend, so I can't just choose one... All the bugs, that's for sure and other than that... I find dragonflies to be quite pretty. Least - These are all context specific, but... I'm seconding Nosho with the midges. Also the small, bitey flies and most gadflies (painful as heck if they bite/sting) that will absolutely devour everything and everyone during the summer.

Cake flavours?

Most - Any fruit, chocolate, coffee and lemon. Least - Anything made with cottage cheese.

Non-gallagher or milkovich shameless characters?

Most - V, maybe Kev. I also liked Sue. Least - Sammi. Caleb. The usual ones. (Also stealing Willow's thought, because as entertaining as Paula was, damn her)

These questions proved how incapable I am of choosing just one "most". But oh well. Keeping it interesting.

Tagging a few awesome people, because I'm miraculously on time. Hop in or have this cookie: 🍪

@transmickey @spacerockwriting @dynamic-power @deathclassic @juliakayyy @look-i-love-u @energievie @palepinkgoat @heymrspatel @suzy-queued @gardenerian @darlingian @ifallonblackdays @swiftfootedachilles @krysmiss @meagaboooo and anybody else who wants to play

#tag game #weekly tag wednesday #weekly tag games #I'm so bad at choosing stuff #but so many good things #also don't expect me to choose a favorite insect I am incapable of doing that

[jenfoundabug]

Non biting midge (Chironomidae) resting after a morning rain.

There’s been a lot these guys in the field (with swampy area) near where I live. Adult midges tend to not live very long, so many species form swarms of mostly males near habitat suitable for their aquatic larvae. It is thought that the males swarm to attract more females to an area.

This individual is most likely a male because of his large feathery antennae. Here’s a close-up:

#Chironomidae #midges #flies #diptera #nature #bugs #nature photography #biodiversity #animals #inaturalist #arthropods #bugblr #entomology #insect appreciation #insect #feather duster #macro photography #macro #nature appreciation #pretty #rain #dew drops

[lycomorpha]

Apologies if this info is somewhere on your blog already, but I'm a huge nerd and want to know all about the trap situation! Is the moth trap purely recreational or part of a study? You mentioned counting them- what sort of data are you recording and are there any interesting implications you've noticed? Have you played around with variables like position of the trap or proximity to certain plants affecting counts?

No problem. The moth trap I use is a modified skinner trap from AngLeps. Best birthday present EVER! It uses an actinic bulb to attract moths. It's for my own interest not part of a study, but I do record all the visitors (beetles, bees, hemipterans, wasps, caddisflies, and non-biting midge species as well as moths.) I use iRecord to input data for our county moth recorder, & I'm part of a group that uses iNaturalist too. I record which species and how many show up. Then I release the moths away from the trap bc birds are usually hanging around the trap shelter looking for a mothy snack!

I live in an urban area, and while I'm lucky to have a decent garden, there are houses on all sides. So I can't move it around much without pissing off my neighbours bc the light is very bright. That's my main restriction - most of my neighbours are understanding but no-one needs to be kept awake by a bat-signal-like moth-beacon 😂

Most of my garden is filled with what I'd call wildflowers but most ppl call weeds. I manage them so no single species dominates, and have more than 30 species that are mostly moth food-plants. So they do have their preferred plants nearby.

Here's my trap - the garden chairs block the light from shining in my own bedroom window!

Re implications from the data... Last year I recorded a third of the moths as the year before, and so far this year? Moth numbers are depressingly terrible. This is probably because last summer's drought killed off a lot of plants, and that had knock on effects. Also we had a very cold spring with late frosts. So locally moths are having a hard time. But that's all the more reason to grow weeds and talk about moths so that more people love them and try to help grow food plants for them 🦋🐛🌿💖

#moth #moths #lepidoptera #insect #insects #nature #entomology #moth trap #moth trapping #bugblr

[onenicebugperday]

@alchemiccolored submitted: Forgot to include location on my last submission: midwest US. This one was really weird! A little red worm thing that was also on the bottom of the stream.

What a nice color! I’m not great at aquatics, but I’d be willing to bet given the size and color that it’s a bloodworm. They’re the larvae of certain non-biting midges in the family Chironomidae :)

#insects #bugs #submission #fly #diptera #larva #midge #non biting midge #chironomidae #bloodworm #probably

[crawlingkind]

Saw this little guy and was intrigued by its fuzzy antennae and long front legs, who is he?

chironomid non-biting midge. I’d ask for location since that’s vital information for the best ID, but these would be pointless for me to try identifying even with location!

#submission

[anentomologist]

Cool Bug Facts #1

The long Sleep of the Sleeping Chironomid, Polypedilum vanderplanki:

On the surface, there's nothing too interesting about this fly. It's a tiny little non-biting midge that exclusively lays their eggs in tiny little puddles that form in a hollow on a rock in Northern Nigeria and nearby areas (one of the original papers claims it was found in Ghana, but I suspect this was a mistake. gBIF (a repository of data of collected and observed organisms) has occurrence records from Burkina Faso, Nigeria (and Japan, but those were grown in captivity)).

As you can imagine, life as a larva in a tiny puddle formed in a hollow on a rock is pretty unstable. One moment you're swimming around having the time of your life and the next moment you're getting up close and personal with the evaporation stage of the water cycle.

Since this would automatically kill any larva not about to burst into fly form like Clark Kent turning into superman (an incredibly accurate description of pupation), they had to figure out something else, and so they unlocked... hmmm... what's the opposite of going super saiyan?

Oh, yeah: anhydrobiosis- extreme desiccation tolerance

They can get so dried up they're only like 3% water (a fact that would be more interesting if I could tell you the original % water they were. Some caterpillars are around 75% water, so let's say somewhere around there.)

This is super extreme! These flies (and possibly a related species, Polypedium pembai) are the only insects known to go through anhydrobiosis, although other animals, including nematodes and tardegradies have been observed doing something similar.

(In fact nematodes and some protists were found in the same sample)

No only that, but they can survive in their dried-up form for as long as 17 years, can be reanimated and then dried again as many as 10 times, can survive in temperatures from -270 to 102 degrees celsius, and can survive being immersed in ethanol, glycerol, liquid helium and liquid nitrogen.

But how do we know all this?

Well.... surprise! It was a white dude, J. E. Vanderplank ("Maverick and Innovator"). Vanderplank was born in what is now South Africa and was a botanist who was really into potatoes. He must have been wandering around Northern Nigeria when he noticed the interesting flies and decided to send them off to his entomologist friend, H. E. Hinton.

Hinton then tested the hell out of the larva, leading to many of the facts above, published in three papers about the insects (which I can no longer access because I no longer have institutional access but if you do you can find it here).

Somehow after Hinton, the flies found their way to the National Institute of Agrobiological Sciences where they were honored with their own working group.

There, researchers continued Hinton's work, finding the hows and whys of the extreme survival. They found that exposure to high salinity- as happened when the puddles started drying up- triggered the insects to rapidly synthesize trehalose, a simple sugar commonly found in hemolymph (insect blood). The trehalose was found to mimic water enough to ensure survival during the periods of anhydrobiosis.

The research group also discovered that P. vanderplanki has one of the smallest genomes among insects.

It is estimated that 2-30 million species of insects exist but fewer than 1 million have been described (written about in the scientific literature). Very small insects and insects from non-Europe and non-the US are frequently overlooked, so there are probably many more anhyrobiotic and other insects that can survive extreme conditions that haven't been discovered yet. Hopefully entomologists will be able to get to them before they're driven to extinction.

References:

Hinton HE (1960). "A fly larva that tolerates dehydration and temperatures of -270°C to +102°C". Nature. 188 (4747): 336–337. Bibcode:1960Natur.188..336H. doi:10.1038/188336a0. S2CID 4260914.

Kikawada, Takahiro; et al. (2005). "Factors Inducing Successful Anhydrobiosis in the African Chironomid Polypedilum vanderplanki: Significance of the Larval Tubular Nest". Integrative and Comparative Biology. 45 (5): 710–714. doi:10.1093/icb/45.5.710. PMID 21676821.

Sakurai, M; Furuki, T; Akao, K; Tanaka, D; Nakahara, Y; Kikawada, T; Watanabe, M; Okuda, T (2008). "Vitrification is essential for anhydrobiosis in an African chironomid, Polypedilum vanderplanki". PNAS. 105 (13): 5093–5098. Bibcode:2008PNAS..105.5093S. doi:10.1073/pnas.0706197105. PMC 2278217. PMID 18362351.

Gusev, O; Cornette, R; Kikawada, T; Okuda, T (2011). "Expression of heat shock protein-coding genes associated with anhydrobiosis in an African chironomid Polypedilum vanderplanki". Cell Stress and Chaperones. 16 (1): 81–90. doi:10.1007/s12192-010-0223-9. PMC 3024092. PMID 20809134.

Zadoks, J. C., & Schein, R. D. (1988). James Edward Vanderplank: Maverick* and Innovator. Annual Review of Phytopathology, 26(1), 31-37.

#insect #entomology #bugs #cool bugs #biology #bugblr #ecology #nature #flies