Is the midge active in the early hours of the day. When will it end? Everything you need to know about the midge and how to deal with it

Midges are a fairly common phenomenon that almost every housewife faces. They appear suddenly in the room, so you need to know how many midges live and what measures to take to prevent their spread.

In appearance, the midge looks like an ordinary humpback mosquito. In length, it reaches six millimeters, has short legs and a proboscis. At rest, the wings of an insect are stacked one on top of the other. Articular antennae have eleven sections.

Features of the life of midges

A close relationship with determines the similarity of the conditions in which pests live. For an ordinary midge, it is important to have aquatic environment, because it is there that they lay eggs, from which its larvae develop. Insects descend under water and equip large colonies there, numbering up to two hundred larvae per square centimeter. Midges have an amazing ability - they breed all their lives.

Interesting! Food is of particular importance to them. Warm-blooded blood is preferred. Their proboscis has a structure that allows you to easily bite through the skin. Males feed mainly on the nectar of flowering plants.

To a certain extent, they pose a danger to people and animals. The liquid injected into the wound is poisonous and can cause severe itching and an allergic reaction. The lifespan of midges, according to scientific research, is about 96 hours. During this short period of time, the individual must find food for itself, find a partner, lay eggs in a secluded place and then die. There is evidence that the male immediately dies after fertilization.

Drosophila midges

Seemingly harmless insects live next to a person, which do not bring him much harm. The presence of midges in the kitchen is unpleasant event. They lay their eggs in rotten food, which is a breeding ground for the development of larvae. If you do not start getting rid of pests in time, then a great many of them will divorce. Moving around the apartment, they get into drinks and ready-made meals that are intended for people. For this reason, it is necessary to destroy midges at the first sign of their appearance in the kitchen.

Fruit flies or Drosophila lay their eggs on the surface of fruits, berries or vegetables even at the time of their ripening. Once in warm rooms, the fruits begin to deteriorate and become a favorable environment for the development of larvae, which reach sizes up to 3.5 mm. The viability of Drosophila depends on the degree of comfort of the living conditions of the larvae. fruit midges live not only on spoiled vegetables and fruits, they can eat houseplants. To do this, they only need a well-hydrated kidney.

life span of insects

In the microclimate of city apartments and houses, midges live all year round. Depending on the time of year and the temperature outside, there may be more or less of them. How better conditions, the fruit flies Drosophila live longer. The most favorable habitat for and food products are well-heated city apartments, in which they can live from one to two months.

• If the temperature environment reaches 18 degrees and above, then they live for about 20 days.
• With more high rates thermometer this period is reduced to 10 days.

Scientists have determined at what temperature midges die. Cold frosty weather with temperatures below 0 can kill a large number of flies of this species. Even with short-term contact with snow and ice, Drosophila dies.

Many are concerned about the question of how long midges live without food. If the pests have nothing to eat, and they are indoors, they will last for several days. Lack of food will lead to the death of adults and larvae.

Even the most small insects capable of causing a lot of trouble to a person.

Few people have not met a midge in the kitchen.

Midge close up

A forgotten piece of apple on the table in the evening, the rest of the juice at the bottom of the cup, vegetables and fruits that begin to disappear can cause a whole swarm of small and annoying creatures to settle in the kitchen.

Irritated owners begin to look for ways to evict these animals, and in the end they ask the main question “How long do midges live?”

Zoologists define several ways for midges to get into an apartment:

• Unwashed vegetables and fruits on which eggs are stored.
• Land for plants, because the soil is full of larvae.
• From street clothes.
• Through sewerage and ventilation.

These lazy and hungry insects are easy to see, because they can sit quietly on vegetables and fruits, on walls and furniture, leaving frequent dark spots on them.

Moth drinking blood

Females feed exclusively on vegetables, fruits and their juice, but males can bite through the skin to suck out blood.

Appearance

Outwardly, these are rather small flying insects, from 1 to 6 mm. They consist of an abdomen, chest and head with thick short antennae.

Most often they are black or gray color, with spots on the back, and the wings are transparent, in a calm state they are folded one on top of the other.

Life cycle of midges

Those housewives who believe that flies can only settle in spoiled products are mistaken. In fact, females lay their eggs in still fresh food.

They do this in warehouses, in storage places, and even while still on the plant. As soon as a vegetable or fruit begins to deteriorate even a little, larvae immediately hatch, which very quickly turn into sexually mature individuals and lay eggs again.

Diagram of the life cycle of the midge

On average, it takes about 4 days from the moment of laying to hatching.

The ability to reproduce is unique, because one female is able to lay about 80 eggs already 8 hours after hatching. Full life cycle midges for about 5 days.

Lifespan

How many midges live in an apartment depends solely on the conditions in which they exist. AT winter period when the apartment is heated, the insects can live up to 3 months and breed successfully.

The abundance of midges on the windowsill

When the temperature drops to 18 degrees, their lifespan is reduced to 20 days. AT summer period when the temperature rises above 25 degrees, the midge lives no longer than 10 days.

With a sharp drop in room temperature, for example, night airing on cold days, insects can die within a day. They die just as quickly in the heat, so the peak of their numbers comes in spring and autumn.

Despite the fact that these creatures do not live long, they are able to bring any mistress to white heat.

A whole swarm of annoying animals that instantly pollute all surfaces and stick around any food put on the table for a minute will spoil the mood of everyone living in the house.

Therefore, it is important to follow some tips that prevent the appearance of insects:

• Fruits and vegetables should be stored in a cool place, protecting them from early decay. Storage areas should be regularly checked and discarded for perishable food.
• Remove leftover food from dishes and throw it in the trash.
• The bucket itself should be closed, and it should be taken out as often as possible, preventing garbage from fermenting.
• Do not leave drinks in cups, cans or bottles. This is an ideal breeding ground for midges.

If the insects still wound up, then the first thing to do is to find a place for their reproduction and thoroughly wash everything around.

Room cleaning

Then you need to ventilate the room well and change the air temperature dramatically, for example, open a window in cold weather.

You can buy special in the store. But ethnoscience suggests safer means.

Aromas of geranium, garlic help. orange and cloves. The midges hurriedly leave the premises saturated with these pungent odors.

Craftsmen also do not lag behind and come up with various ways traps, although ordinary ones will do just fine.

Conclusion

So, careful attention to food, their timely disposal, control over the order and cleanliness in the kitchen can prevent midges from infecting the apartment.

Video: Lifehack. How to get rid of midges

There is one period in Astrakhan region- from the end of May to June, which not only fishermen, but also vacationers try to bypass. These days are the peak of the departure of hordes of insects - Astrakhan midge(yes, yes - with an emphasis on the last syllable). At the same time, her eternal nasal companion, the mosquito, also appears, with which the midge will compete until the beginning of July. It should be noted that midges with their appearance affect only the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain and Astrakhan itself, in the lower reaches of the Volga delta this scourge is no longer there, but horseflies, mosquitoes and gadflies are present there.

The same mosquitoes also drink our blood, and in one bite they suck out several times more blood, but the midge gives people much more problems. If a mosquito can bite directly through clothing, then the midge will curl around and try to find a bare area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe body until it gets into a sleeve or collar. Often midges crawl into the ears, into the eyes, crawl into the nose, from where you want to expel it immediately! Just imagine the buzzing of a mini-helicopter in your ear... It is also not easy to drive away annoying midges, nasty insects hold on to clothes with their tenacious paws.

The saliva of the midge has a toxic effect and often causes allergic reactions. After a bite, this place itches like that. If the mosquito drinks blood with the help of its thin proboscis, then the midge, when bitten, gnaws the skin with its jaws and licks the droplets of blood oozing from the wound. The ugly midge for a bite chooses the most vulnerable parts of the body with delicate skin.

Note that mosquitoes and midges only bite females, the men in the camp of these insects are exceptional vegetarians. Females need blood to start the egg reproduction cycle. If any body of water with stagnant water is suitable for breeding, then the midge should only be fed water from a large river with a fast current. Especially a lot of midges can be born in years with high floods. The slower it subsides, the more insects will hatch and look for food.

The midge has poor eyesight, so it is active only during daylight hours. Insects look for their prey not so much with their eyes, but by the source of heat and the surrounding energy field. That is why midges are disoriented indoors, unlike mosquitoes, which continue to look for their prey. At air temperatures above 35 degrees, the midge experiences a temperature shock and stops looking for food.

With the onset of the first frost, the flying midge dies. The next livestock hibernates already in the form of eggs at the bottom of the reservoir, from which, after the water warms up to +15 degrees, larvae begin to hatch in spring. Mosquitoes prefer to winter in secluded places, where they fall into suspended animation until spring.

Note that until the eighties of the last century there was no midge in the Astrakhan region at all. It appeared in these parts only after the violation of the hydrological regime of the Volga as a result of the construction of a dam.

The same moth

May 25, the water subsides, flew ...

As soon as the flood in the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain begins to subside, hordes of midges immediately appear. The slower the water falls, the longer the midge period will last on the Lower Volga. The more the water level drops, the more insects will rise into the air from the drying floors. Usually, the decline in insect activity occurs around June 25-30, first of all, cities and towns are freed from insects, and on the coastal territory, midges can annoy vacationers until July 20 (but not in such plentiful numbers). As soon as dragonflies fly out, whose favorite food is blood-sucking insects, the dominance of midges gradually begins to fade.

If one of the experienced anglers tells you that midges do not stick on the water, then this can be called true only if the boat is moving on a motor. The insects attack the boat standing on the water and the fishermen in it without ceremony. Midges rage throughout the day - from early morning until dark.

The local population fights with midges in a funny way - the inhabitants of the Astrakhan region cover their heads with special wicker nets, which are pre-soaked in kerosene and even in fuel oil! In this case, the midges are repelled by a pungent smell, but for a person this smell is also unpleasant, because you have to wear such a means of “protection” on your head.

mosquito net

As for all repellents and insect sprays, the effect of them does not last long. It depends primarily on sweating. specific person, the higher it is, the shorter the effect of the use of repellents will be. Bearing in mind the daily Astrakhan heat in June-July, a noticeable effect will last from 20 minutes to an hour.

We will not bore the reader with all possible ways fight against midges (even the most secret), the effectiveness of which in practice is insufficient.

If you want to protect yourself from bites, then remember one simple rule - dress in special equipment! Now in specialized stores you can find mosquito suits, they cost up to 2000 rubles. Hands must be protected with gloves or exposed areas should be treated with repellent. But keep in mind that when in contact with water, all repellents are quickly washed off! If you could not buy a mosquito suit, then you can wear: light pants, socks over pants, a long-sleeved shirt and mosquito net, the lower edges of which must be wrapped under the collar. If the sleeves of the shirt do not fit snugly enough to the wrists, then they can be pulled with a string or elastic band. Fortunately, the midge cannot bite through even the most light fabric, unlike the same mosquito.

Anti-mosquito suit

As for unprotected areas of the body, one proven remedy works better than any repellent. It is necessary to mix any fat cream (for example, children's) with vanilla and spread on bare parts of the body. This composition works up to 4 hours. You can also use the Reftamid spray, however, it lasts for 2 hours, then the treatment must be repeated.

Mosquito at work

If you are still bitten...

As we noted above, midge saliva is toxic because it contains hemolytic poison. During a bite, a substance enters the wound, which gives a temporary analgesic effect. In addition to it, midge saliva contains enzymes that prevent blood clotting. After some time, itching, soreness, and a burning sensation appear at the site of the bite. The skin around the bite turns red, the temperature of the bitten body area rises. Gradually, the area swells, and the swelling can persist for several days, and this place can itch for several more weeks. It is very difficult to resist the temptation to scratch the bite site, but this should still not be done in order to prevent the formation of sores into which infection can be introduced.

As for medications, it can be recommended to treat the bite site ammonia. The effect of it will not be immediately, and on fishing it is usually not kept at hand. The gels "Fenistil" and "Psilo-balm" show themselves well, not only from the bites of the midge, but also from the bites of horseflies or wasps.

If an allergic reaction occurs, antihistamines should be taken. It is better not to take Suprastin, Tavegil for fishing - they cannot be mixed with alcohol, and they dull the reaction ... In this case, it would be better to use Kestin or Zirtek, which are devoid of the above disadvantages.

Life during midges

I would like to erect a monument to those heroes who, during the flight of midges, go to the banks of the Lower Volga or Akhtuba as a savage and are going to live in tents. They will tell their friends about this heroic experience for a long time to come. After all, during the moka period, not only eating in the open air, but also coping with large or small needs turns into a whole problem. Midge sandwiches are quite edible, only crunchy (just kidding).

As for staying at the fishing base during the period of midges, everything here is much more optimistic. Indoors, the midge loses its orientation, but it’s still not worth letting it inside! Well, if annoying insects nevertheless climbed inside the dwelling, then the Fumigator will quickly calm them down.

Fishing during midges

The bite of a predator during the flight of midges is simply outstanding, this must be experienced at least once in a lifetime. In June, fishing for spinning near the leaks is very exciting.

Asp, catfish, zander, perch and pike are perfectly caught. Even the sabrefish gathers in huge flocks near the leaks, where it exterminates the rolling fry.

So it remains only to gain courage, take care of the appropriate equipment, and come to our fishing base in June. For the period of departure of the midge, we provide special discounts on accommodation. By the way, you can read a review about midge fishing, which was left by one of our clients in 2011.

A little video about fishing in the Astrakhan region during the midge period

Despite their small size and, as it may seem at first glance, the harmlessness of midges, they carry big problems and danger to humans.

In products of “not the first freshness”, these insects lay eggs, and after some time the number of such fruit flies multiplies many times. How to deal with them? After all, if you do not take any action, the midge itself will not go anywhere.

Breeding in an apartment, fruit flies fall into food and drinks, which carries with it a high probability of their further entry into the human body. That is why you should immediately take all possible measures to combat midges.

How does the midge appear and what is its habitat

It may seem that a barely noticeable creature appears out of nowhere, expecting a spoiled product to be found in the house. The problem is that adult females lay eggs at the stage of ripening vegetables and fruits. Being in a warm room, food spoils, becoming an ideal habitat. The midge begins to grow in them. After some time, a larva appears from the egg, after which it turns into Drosophila. Many people ask the question: how long does the midge exist?

• Drosophila can live not only in spoiled foods. The midge is considered a pest and for indoor plants, since moist soil becomes a favorable environment for it. For this reason, the kitchen is not the main source of Drosophila.

How long can a midge live?

In fact, this insect does not live long. The length of its existence depends on the conditions. The better the habitat, the longer the life span. For example, in winter, the midge is able to exist for about three months, but with warm air close to 18 degrees Celsius - no more than 20 days. At 25 degrees above zero, her life lasts up to 10 days. We sorted out the question of how long Drosophila can exist.

The development of the midge takes place in the following way: received favorable conditions the fly lays eggs. Being in a nutrient medium, eggs, the size of which is half a millimeter, turn into white larvae. The length of the latter reaches 3.5 mm. From this moment on, the main cycle of development of the individual takes place. The viability of Drosophila directly depends on the conditions in which the larvae are located. The young midge appears after 4 days, and after another 8 hours the individual is ready to lay eggs. This suggests that the breeding process of Drosophila is very fast, so it is advised to immediately destroy it.

• A female midge can lay about 80 eggs at a time!

Tips for preventing the breeding of flies in the apartment:

• store vegetables and fruits, food products in cool places where they will not spoil quickly;
• clean the dishes from food debris before sending them to the sink;
• do not leave the trash can full, wash it every time it gets dirty;
• maintain the area near the house in good condition, do not throw garbage, as the midge can start in the grass;
• do not leave bottles and cans of beer, wine, compote open. All this carries the threat of the appearance of fruit flies.

Fighting midges in the apartment

Although prevention is the most simple action, getting rid of midges is also simple. Take the bait and container (how much does not matter), and you are almost there. When the midges arrive for sweets, close the container with a lid and put it in freezer for 10 minutes. This time will be enough for the flies to die. Alternatively, you can hold the container in the microwave on for a few seconds.

To combat midges on the ceiling, use a vacuum cleaner. After collecting fruit flies, it is enough to close the inlet for a couple of hours, and the midge will not go anywhere.

Initially, you should understand where and how many insects are in the room. For example, if a swarm of midges is seen on a balcony, you need to do it there good cleaning and treat with a special solution. In the bathroom or shower room - it's easier. Pour the sweet into the bath or shower, and after the midge flocks to the bait, rinse everything with plenty of water.

Midges are arthropod insects that belong to the Diptera order, the long-whiskered suborder, the midge family (lat. Simuliidae).

Midges - description, structure and characteristics.

The body length of midges varies from 1.2 to 6 mm. The smallest species live in the tropics, the largest are common in the northern temperate and subpolar latitudes.

In the structure of the midge, 3 main sections are distinguished: the head, chest and abdomen. The rounded head of females has a wide forehead, while that of males is narrower. The antennae of midges consist of 11 (sometimes 9 or 10) segments, they are very thin, cord-like and covered with short hairs. The color of the antennae varies from dark yellow and brownish to dark gray and black. The antennae of females are thicker and shorter than those of males, and also have a slight flattening and taper towards the end.

The eyes of the midge are faceted, in males they usually touch along the frontal suture, in females they are separated by the forehead. Horizontally, the eyes of males are divided into a larger upper part, where the large facets are located, and the smaller lower part where the small facets are located. In females, all facets are of the same size, and their number exceeds the number of facets in males. Additional simple eyes in midges are not developed.

The chest of insects is strongly convex. Hairs grow on the back, and there may also be various dark or silver spots. The color and shape of the spots differ in different types midges.

The abdomen of midges is oval, slightly pointed towards the end and consists of 11 segments. The dorsal part of the first segment protrudes upwards and backwards, forming a kind of collar covered with a brush of long hairs.

The midges have well-developed halteres, which are club-shaped. Halteres are paired appendages of the thoracic segments of insects; in midges, they are located on the metathorax and represent modified wings. During the flight, they help the insect to maintain balance, vibrate and emit characteristic sound. That's why insects buzz. The stem of the haltere in midges middle length, at the end of the mace - a slight depression. The color of the halteres varies from white-yellow, yellowish and ocher to brown and black. The club is usually lighter than the stalk. In addition, the halteres of males are darker and brighter than those of females.

The wings of midges are wide, round-oval, transparent, with longitudinal venation, from 1.4 to 6 mm long. The surface of the wings is covered with small tubercles. At rest, the wings fold horizontally, covering one another.

The oral appendages of midges consist of palps and a complex proboscis of a piercing-sucking type. The proboscis is short and thick, it consists of the upper lip and epipharynx, hypopharynx, 2 mandibles (upper jaws), 2 maxillae (lower jaws) and lower lip. The upper lip, mandibles and maxillae of blood-sucking females have teeth of a tear-cutting type. In males and females that do not drink blood (for example, Prosimulium alpestre), the teeth are replaced by hairs. The maxillary palps consist of 4-5 segments; the third segment has a special sensory organ that performs sensory functions. Feelers are used by midges to orientate on the body of a person or animal when choosing a place for an injection. The upper lip has the same functions, but first of all it serves to pierce the skin of the victim. After the bite, the ends of the mandibles are cut into the wound, which move from top to bottom. Maxillas, when immersed in the wound, tear the tissues and walls of the victim's blood vessels. Next, the midge immerses the upper lip, epipharynx and hypopharynx into the wound and drinks blood. The hypopharynx has a channel through which saliva enters the wound, preventing blood clotting. The lower lip has a sensitive function and is used for licking. Like other bloodsuckers, in midges, water and liquid carbohydrate food enter the goiter through the esophagus, and blood enters directly into the midgut.

Midges have 3 pairs of fairly powerful limbs, each consisting of a coxa, trochanter, thigh, tibia and five-segmented tarsus. The paws of midges are equipped with claws: males have a wide cupped tooth at their base, female claws can be simple (short or long) or also have a tooth (large or small). Most often, the limbs of midges are black, although in some varieties, individual segments of the legs may be yellowish or brown in color, or be covered with silvery spots. The coloration, pubescence and shape of the limbs depends on the variety of the midge.

How long do midges live?

The life expectancy of a midge depends on the species, weather conditions of habitat and nutrition. Herbivorous varieties live very little - only a few days (less than a week). The average lifespan of blood-sucking species is 3-4 weeks, although some females certain types can live up to 3 months.

Where do midges live?

Midges live on almost all continents, with the exception of Antarctica and the Sahara desert zone. These small insects live in the North and South America, in Australia, Mediterranean countries, in Russia, Middle and Central Asia, in Japan, Indochina, India, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Kazakhstan and Taiwan, on Far East and the Caucasus, the Baltic States and North Africa.

Especially a lot of midges are found in the taiga regions, in deciduous forests with high humidity as well as near water bodies. Presence of nearby water necessary condition habitats of midges, because three of the four life phases of development (egg, larva, pupa) pass in these insects in water bodies or in their immediate vicinity. On land, only adult adults live.

What do midges eat?

The nutrition of these insects depends on the sex. Females of most species of midges are a voluminous component of midges (in addition to mosquitoes and midges) and prefer to drink blood, attacking people, animals or birds. They deliver with their painful bites a lot of discomfort in the form of itching, local redness, swelling of the skin, and even serious allergic reactions. victims annoying midges become, goats, roe deer, buffaloes, geese. But they practically do not suffer from the bites of midges.

Male midges are avid vegetarians and feed exclusively on nectar and vegetable juices. Among midges, there are also completely non-blood-sucking species.

Types of midges, names and photos.

Today, about 1800 species of midges are known. Below is a description of several varieties.

• The length of the insect is from 3 to 4.5 mm. There is a silver edging on the back. The color of the legs, antennae and abdomen depends on the subspecies. The body length of the larva is 6-11 mm (depending on the subspecies), the size of the pupa is 3-5 mm. Different subspecies of the decorated midge live throughout the Palearctic, north to Greenland, Novaya Zemlya and the outskirts of Europe and Asia, south to the Mediterranean and southern India, and also found in North America.

• Horse midge (lat.Wilhelmia equina) is represented by several varieties. The length of the midge reaches 2.5-4 mm. The back and abdomen are covered with silvery-golden hairs; males have silver spots on the shoulder fields. The body length of the larva is 5-7 mm. In its posterior sucker there are 80-100 rows of hooks, 17-24 hooks in each row. The length of the pupa varies from 2.6 to 4 mm, depending on the subspecies of the midge; the cocoon has a shoe-like shape. The habitat of the horse midge extends from the Kola Peninsula and Karelia to Kamchatka. The southern boundaries of the range are not defined. Larvae and pupae are common in rivers of different directions, they can even live in heavily polluted water bodies. Preference is given to ponds with vegetation. Females are bloodsuckers, attack people and animals. In horses, midges can be seen in the ears. During the year, one (in the northern regions) or several (in the south) generations of horse midges develop.

• Boophthora sericata. The body length of the midge is 3-3.5 mm. On the back of males, a pattern in the form of silvery stripes is noticeable. The females have legs yellow. The size of the larva is 6-7 mm, its color is whitish-yellow. The length of the pupa is 3-4 mm, the cocoon is simple, opaque. This species of midges lives in the European part of Russia and countries of Eastern Europe. Midges develop in rivers and channels major rivers, silted and overgrown with vegetation.

Taken from: science.mnhn.fr, CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

• Tundra midge (lat. Schoenbaueria pusilla). The length of males is from 2.5 to 3 mm. The tentacles are short and thin. The back is velvety black, with a silvery tint from the sides and back, covered with sparse golden hairs. Abdomen brown-black dorsally, with dark hairs. The legs are black, the halteres are brown, darker at the base.

The females of the tundra midge are about 3 mm long, with black-brown tentacles and antennae. Frons and vertex greyish, with dense hairs. There are no silvery spots on the back of the females, the back itself is black-gray, covered with silvery hairs. Halteres light yellow. The anterior veins of the wings are white-yellow. The legs of the female midge are brown-black. The claw is small, with a thickening at the base. The abdomen is black above, dark yellow below, covered with sparse hairs.

The size of the larva is 4.5-6 mm, its color is yellow-white, the dorsal side has transverse brown stripes. In the posterior sucker of the larva there are 70-72 rows of hooks, 11-13 hooks in each row. The length of the light yellow pupa is from 2.5 to 3 mm, the cocoon is simple, with loose weaving, without windows on the sides. Tundra midges are common in the northern regions, from the Kola Peninsula to the Yenisei River basin. Mass pupation occurs in June-July. The years of adults are observed from July to the first half of September. The tundra midge is a malicious bloodsucker that attacks people and animals.

• The length of the adult is approximately 3 mm. The body is black, but there are silver spots on the back. The length of the larva is from 5.5 to 6 mm, the pupae - from 2.8 to 3.6 mm. This variety of midges lives massively from Karelia and the Arkhangelsk region up to the Moscow region and the territory of Transbaikalia. The habitat depends on the subspecies.

Taken from: www.boldsystems.org

• The length of an adult insect is from 3.5 to 3.8 mm. On the back of males, narrow silvery spots are visible; in females, these spots are dark. Antennae and palps are black, although females may have a brownish tint on the antennae. The limbs of males are mostly black, although there is a silvery spot on the middle tibia, and the hind tibia has a yellowish tinge. Legs of females are brownish-black, with silvery spots on outside fore and middle tibia, as well as with a light yellowish tinge at the base of the hind tibia. The halteres of the females are yellowish white. The length of the larva is from 7 to 8.5 mm, the size of the pupa is approximately 4 mm. Cocoon simple, with edging along anterior margin. Silver midges live in Russia, North America and countries Western Europe. They inhabit small, overgrown with vegetation, silted rivers in the forest zone, in the north - in the tundra. Adults are found from early June to September, depending on latitude. Silver midges are malicious bloodsuckers that attack people in the taiga and tundra zone.

• The length of the midge is about 4 mm. The antennae of males are black, the limbs are also black with more light shade at the junction of the femur with the lower leg, as well as on the first segment of the hind tarsus. The antennae of females at the base are light yellow. The mandibles of females are uniformly sloping and serrated on both sides. There is a bright silver pattern on the back. The limbs of the females are brown-black, in some places with a lighter shade. The size of the larva of the light-fronted midge varies from 7 to 9 mm, its color can be red or gray-yellow. The large fan of the larva contains 47-57 setae. There are 68-80 rows of hooks in the posterior sucker, 10-15 hooks in each row. The length of the pupa is 4 mm; the cocoon has a loose weave, with numerous holes on the sides and top. Light-fronted midges live on vast territory, which extends from the countries of northeastern Europe eastward through Russia to Transbaikalia. In the south, the range reaches the middle of the European part of Russia.

Taken from: www.biodiversity.ubc.ca

The reproduction of midges.

The life cycle of midges consists of 4 phases:

1. Larva
2. chrysalis
3. Imago (adult)

After fertilization by the male, for the normal growth and maturation of eggs, the female simply needs blood. With adequate nutrition and favorable weather conditions already after 5-7 days, the eggs fully mature, otherwise the laying process can slow down for up to three weeks. The female midge lays eggs in one layer in rows or in groups of 50-100 pieces each, gluing the eggs together with a special secret. Sometimes several females of the same or even different species lay eggs in one place at once. Eggs of midges are laid on a constantly wetted substrate near a reservoir, on stones, driftwood or vegetation protruding above the surface or completely submerged in water. The development of eggs, and then larvae and pupae, occurs in running water.

Midge eggs can be round-triangular or round-rectangular in shape, resembling an oval. The shell of the egg is very thin, sometimes translucent, absolutely smooth. The length of the eggs varies from 0.15 to 0.4 mm. The color of the newly laid clutch is light ocher, then the eggs begin to darken, and their color becomes dark brown.

Taken from: www.researchgate.net

The midge larva is worm-shaped and consists of 11 segments. The color of the larva is light yellow or ocher, interspersed with greenish, brown or brown spots. Thoracic the body is noticeably thickened and equipped with a kind of "leg" for movement. The posterior end of the body has a strong swelling and a special organ (the so-called sucker) with numerous hooks, with the help of which the larva fixes its position. The ventral part of the body is often flattened. The head of the larva is large, separated from the body by a clear bridge, most often darker in color than the body, often black. On the head of the larva there are developed long antennae, oral apparatus with a pair of powerful mandibles, as well as special chitinous formations - fans that help the larva to filter food, consisting of plankton and algae. In addition, the larvae have well-developed arachnoid glands that secrete a secret with which they can move. But basically their lifestyle is semi-sitting.

The pupa of the midge is completely, and sometimes only partially covered with a cocoon, which has a round outlet - through it the breathing process takes place, carried out with the help of respiratory filaments. The cocoon is woven from spider webs secreted by the larva, and can be different shapes: in the form of a hut, shoe-shaped, boot-shaped or goblet-shaped. The body of the pupa is sometimes covered with hairs, short bristles, various outgrowths resembling plaques, tubercles, tiny cones, spines or cylinders. During its development, the midge pupa does not move and does not feed: only comfortable temperature water and oxygen supply. After one to two weeks, an adult is born.

Depending on the type and temperature conditions in the reservoir, the rate of development of midges varies significantly. The vast majority of midges wait out the cold season in the egg stage. This method of wintering is especially typical for species living in latitudes with a harsh climate, where water bodies freeze. It is very rare for midges to survive the winter months in the larval phase, and this is most likely the exception to the rule. In places with a warm climate, where water bodies are not covered with a layer of ice, midges overwinter in the larval stage, although their development may slow down during this period. For a year, different types of midges can develop from 1 to 3 generations.