|
FEATURES:
COMMON NAME:
- midges
or non-biting flies
MORPHOLOGY:
- Larvae
are slender and have a curved posture when preserved
- They have
two fleshy prolegs (one pair ventral prothorax, one at the end of the
abdomen)
- A pair
of tufted papillae are found on the dorsal side fo the anal segment
adjacent to which may be two pairs of tubules and on preanal segment,
a pair of fleshy tubercles (procrci)
- The head
has a complete head capsule that is heavily sclerotized
- The eye
spots, antennae (retactive), various setae, scals and lamellae are primary
sense structures
- The mouthparts
are complex
- (Williams,
1992 pg.94)
- They have
anterior and posterior paris of prolegs and are diverse in form and
size
- (Thorp,
1991 pg. 626)
- The pupae
live in a cylindrical tube but some are free swimming
- The adults
have slender wings that lack scales
- Apterous
forms occur in certain habitats
- They are
generally black, brown with some green, red and yellow hints
- They are
small and delicate, the antennae are longer than the head, the male
has long setae, the mouth parts are reduced and their legs are long
- (Williams
et al., 1992 pg 94-97)
- Size of
larvae range from 2-30mm in contrast to the adults who have a wing length
from 0.8-7.5mm
- (William
et al., 1992 pg 94)
-
-
FUNCTIONAL
FEEDING GROUP:
- The adults
are mainly shredders with a subdivision of chewers and miners
- Herbivores,
detritivores, scrapers, or collectors
- The larvae
filter out particles of algae and other plant/animal materials
- A few species
are obligate on one food type, they are opportunistic
- (Williams
et al., 1992 pg 96)
|
