A midge is any small fly, including species in several families of non- mosquito

Nematocera The Nematocera (the name means "thread-horns") are a suborder of elongated fly, flies with thin, segmented antenna (biology), antennae and mostly aquatic larvae. This group is paraphyletic and contains all flies but species from suborder Brachyce ...

n Diptera. Midges are found (seasonally or otherwise) on practically every land area outside permanently arid deserts and the frigid zones. Some midges, such as many Phlebotominae (sand fly) and

Simuliidae A black fly or blackfly (sometimes called a buffalo gnat, turkey gnat, or white socks) is any member of the family Simuliidae of the Culicomorpha infraorder. It is related to the Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, and Thaumaleidae. Over 2,200 speci ...

(black fly), are vectors of various diseases. Many others play useful roles as prey for insectivores, such as various frogs and swallows. Others are important as detritivores, and form part of various nutrient cycles. The habits of midges vary greatly from species to species, though within any particular family, midges commonly have similar ecological roles. Examples of families that include species of midges include: * Blephariceridae, net-winged midges * Cecidomyiidae, gall midges * Ceratopogonidae, biting midges (also known as no-see-ums or punkies in North Americabr>BugGuide
/ref> and sandflies in Australia) * Chaoboridae, phantom midges * Chironomidae, non-biting midges (also known as muckleheads, muffleheads or lake flies in the

Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five la ...

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 blue tongue and African horse sickness – other species though, are at least partly nectar feeders, and some even suck insect bodily fluids. Ceratopogonidae midge sucking Sphodromantis blood IMG 3045ss

Ceratopogonidae midge sucking Sphodromantis blood IMG 3045ss

Other ceratopogonid midges are major pollinators of ''

Theobroma cacao ''Theobroma cacao'', also called the cacao tree and the cocoa tree, is a small ( tall) evergreen tree in the family Malvaceae. Its seeds, cocoa beans, are used to make chocolate liquor, cocoa solids, cocoa butter and chocolate. The largest ...

'' (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). Most other midge families are bloodsuckers, but it is not possible to generalise rigidly because of the vagueness of the term "midge". 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 sorghum midge) are significant plant pests. The larvae of some Chironomidae contain

hemoglobin Hemoglobin (haemoglobin BrE) (from the Greek word αἷμα, ''haîma'' 'blood' + Latin ''globus'' 'ball, sphere' + ''-in'') (), abbreviated Hb or Hgb, is the iron-containing oxygen-transport metalloprotein present in red blood cells (erythrocyte ...

and are sometimes referred to as bloodworms. Non-biting midge flies are a common minor nuisance around artificially-created bodies of water.

Examples

See also

References

Further reading