| Chironomus plumosus | |
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| Adult male | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Chironomidae |
| Genus: | Chironomus |
| Species: | C. plumosus |
| Binomial name | |
| Chironomus plumosus | |
| Synonyms | |
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Chironomus plumosus, also known as the buzzer midge, is a species of nonbiting midge (Chironomidae) that occurs throughout areas in the Northern Hemisphere.
Adults are pale green with brown legs and grow to 12 mm (0.5 in). Males have feathery antennae, while females' antennae are sleek. A dark brown band is seen at the end of each abdominal segment. Adults of the sibling species C. muratensis and C. nudiventris cannot be distinguished from C. plumosus based on morphological characters. [1]
The larvae are called bloodworms because some larvae are bright red, but they can also be found in brown and almost black. When the larva pupate, they drift towards the surface, making them vulnerable to many types of fish. [2] Other common predators include the common backswimmer (Notonecta glauca), common pondskater (Gerris lacustris), common toad (Bufo bufo), lesser water boatman (Corixa punctata), dragonflies, damselflies, great crested newt (Triturus cristatus), great diving beetle (Dytiscus marginalis), redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus), smooth newt (Triturus vulgaris), water scorpion (Nepa cinerea) and other midges such as Anatopynia plumipes . [3]
During the spring and summer, males create mating swarms which people can find quite a nuisance, though adults do not bite or feed. Females lay egg masses in water where the egg mass will grow and sink to the bottom. The larvae stay at the bottom in silken tubes. [4] The larvae feed on organic material such as organic debris and algae.
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- di- "two", and πτερόν pteron "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced mechanosensory organs known as halteres, which act as high-speed sensors of rotational movement and allow dipterans to perform advanced aerobatics. Diptera is a large order containing an estimated 1,000,000 species including horse-flies, crane flies, hoverflies, mosquitoes and others, although only about 125,000 species have been described.
The smooth newt, European newt, northern smooth newt or common newt is a species of newt. It is widespread in Europe and parts of Asia, and has been introduced into Australia. Individuals are brown with a spotted underside that ranges in colour from orange to white. They reach an average length of 8–11 cm (3.1–4.3 in); males are larger than females. The newts' skins are dry and velvety when they are living on land, but become smooth when they migrate into the water to breed. Males develop a more vivid colour pattern and a conspicuous skin seam (crest) on their back when breeding.
The northern crested newt, great crested newt or warty newt is a newt species native to Great Britain, northern and central continental Europe and parts of Western Siberia. It is a large newt, with females growing up to 16 cm (6.3 in) long. Its back and sides are dark brown, while the belly is yellow to orange with dark blotches. Males develop a conspicuous jagged crest on their back and tail during the breeding season.
A black fly or blackfly is any member of the family Simuliidae of the Culicomorpha infraorder. It is related to the Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, and Thaumaleidae. Over 2,200 species of black flies have been formally named, of which 15 are extinct. They are divided into two subfamilies: Parasimuliinae contains only one genus and four species; Simuliinae contains all the rest. Over 1,800 of the species belong to the genus Simulium.
The alpine newt is a species of newt native to continental Europe and introduced to Great Britain and New Zealand. Adults measure 7–12 cm (2.8–4.7 in) and are usually dark grey to blue on the back and sides, with an orange belly and throat. Males are more conspicuously coloured than the drab females, especially during breeding season.
Triturus is a genus of newts comprising the crested and the marbled newts, which are found from Great Britain through most of continental Europe to westernmost Siberia, Anatolia, and the Caspian Sea region. Their English names refer to their appearance: marbled newts have a green–black colour pattern, while the males of crested newts, which are dark brown with a yellow or orange underside, develop a conspicuous jagged seam on their back and tail during their breeding phase.
The Nematocera are a suborder of elongated flies with thin, segmented antennae and mostly aquatic larvae. This group is paraphyletic and contains all flies except for species from suborder Brachycera, which includes more commonly known species such as the housefly or the common fruit fly. The equivalent clade to Nematocera is the whole Diptera, with Brachycera as a subclade. Families in Nematocera include mosquitoes, crane flies, gnats, black flies, and multiple families commonly known as midges. The Nematocera typically have fairly long, fine, finely-jointed antennae. In many species, such as most mosquitoes, the female antennae are more or less threadlike, but the males have spectacularly plumose antennae.
Ceratopogonidae is a family of flies commonly known as no-see-ums, or biting midges, generally 1–3 millimetres in length. The family includes more than 5,000 species, distributed worldwide, apart from the Antarctic and the Arctic.
The Chironomidae comprise a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae. Many species superficially resemble mosquitoes, but they lack the wing scales and elongated mouthparts of the Culicidae.
The Chironomoidea are a superfamily within the order Diptera, suborder Nematocera, infraorder Culicomorpha. This superfamily contains the families Chironomidae, Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae.
The Danube crested newt or Danube newt is a species of newt found in central and eastern Europe, along the basin of the Danube river and some of its tributaries and in the Dnieper delta. It has a smaller and more slender body than the other crested newts in genus Triturus but like these, males develop a conspicuous jagged seam on back and tail during breeding season.
A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aquatic salamanders are considered newts, however. More than 100 known species of newts are found in North America, Europe, North Africa and Asia. Newts metamorphose through three distinct developmental life stages: aquatic larva, terrestrial juvenile (eft), and adult. Adult newts have lizard-like bodies and return to the water every year to breed, otherwise living in humid, cover-rich land habitats.
Chironomus is a genus of nonbiting midges in the subfamily Chironominae of the bloodworm family, Chironomidae, containing several cryptic species that can only be distinguished by experts based on the characteristics of their giant chromosomes.
Pontomyia is a genus of flightless marine midges belonging to the subfamily Chironominae in the Chironomidae family. Insects in marine environments are extremely rare while flightlessness, extreme sexual dimorphism, and an extremely short adult life span contribute to making these midges unusual among insects. They are known from the shores of islands in the Indian, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Chironomus riparius, also known as Chironomus thummi and commonly known as the harlequin fly, is a species of non-biting midge. Their larvae are known by the common name of blood worm due to their red colouration. It is common in both North America and Europe. The species was described in 1804 by Johann Wilhelm Meigen. C. riparius has been used extensively as a model for genome structure analysis in insects and is also used in toxicology tests and functional developmental genetic studies. Both their adult and larval forms have been implicated as disease vectors but are also an important part of freshwater food chains.
A gnat is any of many species of tiny flying insects in the dipterid suborder Nematocera, especially those in the families Mycetophilidae, Anisopodidae and Sciaridae. Most often they fly in large numbers, called clouds. "Gnat" is a loose descriptive category rather than a phylogenetic or other technical term, so there is no scientific consensus on what constitutes a gnat. Some entomologists consider only non-biting flies to be gnats. Certain universities and institutes also distinguish eye gnats: the Smithsonian Institution describes them as "non-biting flies, no bigger than a few grains of salt, ... attracted to fluids secreted by your eyes".
Chironomus zealandicus, commonly known as the New Zealand midge, common midge, or non-biting midge, is an insect of the Chironomidae family that is endemic to New Zealand. The worm-like larvae are known to fisherman and have a common name of blood worm due to their red color and elongated blood gills.
Bezzia nobilis is a species of biting midges in the family Ceratopogonidae. It is widely considered one of the most common Bezzia species; it is found in Eurasian regions, all over the United States, Central America, and even into South American countries like Brazil. B. nobilis seem to prefer aquatic environments; they are commonly observed in stagnant water pools in Eurasia regions and marshes in the southern United States. Adults of this species are easily distinguished by their black and yellow striped legs. Pupae are recognized by their brown bodies, abdominal spines, and respiratory horns. B. nobilis larvae are distinguished by brown heads and white bodies. Little information is known on their life cycle or mating habits. B. nobilis is a predatory species. While some research suggests they mainly feed on larvae of other insect species, experiments suggest they prefer immobile, easy prey such as dead adult flies, bacteria, and protozoa.
Chironomus annularius is a species of non-biting midge in the family Chironomidae. It is usually found in regions with bodies of fresh water but can be found in almost every environment. It tends to form "hotspots" around specific areas. The species is distinguished by the size of its chromosomes and the lack of a proboscis.
Tokunagayusurika akamusi is a midge fly species of the family Chironomidae, commonly called "nonbiting midges" or "lake flies."
Media related to Chironomus plumosus at Wikimedia Commons| Authority control databases: National |
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