Chironomidae (nuisance midges)

Diptera (medical/veterinary) • veterinary/medical pests • pests-diseases-weeds

larva of a species of the family Chironomidae (click on image to enlarge it)
Author: Frank Fox
Source: Wikimedia Commons

Vernacular names
• Deutsch:	Zuckmücken
• English:	nuisance midges chironomids non-biting midges
• Français:	chironomidés

Chironomidae (nuisance midges)

This family contains around 5-10,000 species of mosquito-like insects. However, unlike the related family of Culicidae, the chironomids do not bite and the females lack a proboscis. A few species are regarded as crop pests, see the page on Chironomidae (crop pests). However, others can cause nuisance problems and human allergies when the adults emerge in large numbers and form swarms near lakes and ponds just before sunset. This page deals with the nuisance species.

The larvae are very common in fresh water where many species live in tubes composed of mud and debris. They filter the water for digestible particles like algae, leaf- or wood fragments and other organic matter.

For details see the respective page in Wikipedia.

The following genera are currently entered in the system:

• Chironomus (genus)
• Glyptotendipes paripes