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Ceratopogonidae is a family of flies commonly known as no-see-ums, sand flies or biting midges, generally 1–3 millimetres (1 ⁄ 16 – 1 ⁄ 8 in) in length. The family includes more than 5,000 species, [2] distributed worldwide, apart from the Antarctic and the Arctic.
Female midges tend to bite close to their breeding site (although they have been found up to 1 kilometre (1,100 yd) and near to the ground. [2] They are most active just before dawn and sunset but bite at any time of day. Midges are less active with wind speeds of over 10 km/h (3 m/s; 6 mph), or humidity below 60–75%. [2]
A midge is any small fly, including species in several families of non-mosquito nematoceran 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 (black fly), are vectors of various diseases.
They can damage paint, brick, and other surfaces with their droppings. When large numbers of adults die, they can build up into malodorous piles. They can provoke allergic reactions in sensitive individuals. [18] These allergic reactions have been shown to be caused by the haemolglobins that are primarily found in Chironomidae larval stages. [2]
Debenham, M.L. 1987: The biting midge genus Forcipomyia (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the Australasian region (exclusive of New Zealand). IV. The subgenera allied to Forcipomyia, s.s., and Lepidohelea, and the interrelationships and biogeography of the subgenera of Forcipomyia. Invertebrate taxonomy, 1(6): 631-684. doi:10.1071/IT9870631
Belgica antarctica, the Antarctic midge, is a species of flightless midge, endemic to the continent of Antarctica. At 2–6 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long, it is the largest purely terrestrial animal native to the continent. It also has the smallest known insect genome as of 2014, with only 99 million base pairs of nucleotides and about 13 500 genes ...
Gall midge larvae, and many adults, are orange or yellow in color due to carotenoids. [10] Cecidomyiidae are among the very few animals which can synthesize carotenoids, but its unknown to what degree de novo biosynthesis of carotenoids accounts for their characteristic color as opposed to dietary sequestration or endosymbionts. [ 11 ]
The females lay batches of up to about ninety eggs on damp piles of plant debris. The eggs hatch after two or three days and the larvae pass through four instar stages before pupating at about twelve days. The adults survive for about a week and there are thought to be about twelve generations of the midge per year.