Chironomidae (crop pest midges)
Author: Frank Fox
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Chironomidae (crop pest 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. The larvae are very common in fresh water where they often 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.
A number of species are nuisance pests when the adults emerge in large numbers and form swarms, see the page on Chironomidae (nuisance midges). However, some species have been reported to attack crops like Camptochironomus tentans. This page deals with the latter group.
The following genera and species are currently entered in the system:
