''Dasyhelea'' is a

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of biting midges and the only genus of its subfamily, the Dasyheleinae.

Larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. ...

e of species in this genus are characterized by an anal segment with retractile posterior

proleg A proleg is a small, fleshy, stub structure found on the ventral surface of the abdomen of most larval forms of insects of the order Lepidoptera, though they can also be found on other larval insects such as sawflies and a few other types of in ...

s. Larvae are aquatic and adults do not feed on vertebrate blood, nor do they prey on other insects. They take nectar only, an unusual feeding behavior within the

Ceratopogonidae Ceratopogonidae is a family of flies commonly known as no-see-ums, or biting midges, generally in length. The family includes more than 5,000 species, distributed worldwide, apart from the Antarctic and the Arctic. Ceratopogonidae are holomet ...

References

* Elson-Harris, M.M. 1990. Keys to the immature stages of some Australian Ceratopogonidae. ''Journal of the Australian Entomological Society'' 29: 267-275. * Mullen, G.R. and L.J. Hribar. 1988. Biology and feeding behavior of ceratopogonid larvae (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in North America. ''Bulletin of the Society for Vector Ecology'' 13: 60-81. Ceratopogonidae Chironomoidea genera {{Chironomoidea-stub