Summary ⁴

Ceratopogonidae, or biting midges (including what are called, in the United States and Canada, no-see-ums, midgies, sand flies, punkies, and others), are a family of small flies (1–4 mm long) in the order Diptera. They are closely related to the Chironomidae, Simuliidae (or black flies), and Thaumaleidae.

Diagnostic description ⁵

Small flies, 1-6 mm long, slender to moderately robust. Female with biting and sucking mouthparts; bloodsucker of vertebrates or insects, or predator. Male with plumose antennae. Wings held horizontally at rest one above the other, sometimes strongly patterned. Early stages usually found in moist or aquatic habitats; larva apneustic, often elongate in form, and a strong swimmer. (Downes & Wirth 1981)

General description ⁶

Ceratopogonidae (Biting Midges)
The adults are gnats that consume other small insects or bite warm-blooded animals. In addition to these activities, they also visit flowers with exposed nectaries, but aren't important pollinators. The larvae live in moist ground where there is a suitable amount of decaying organic material.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Stavros Markopoulos, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/91116392@N00/2301140191
2. (c) Christophe Quintin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.flickr.com/photos/34878947@N04/15248322288/
3. (c) Christophe Quintin, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), https://www.flickr.com/photos/34878947@N04/14954349177/
4. Adapted by Allie Hay from a work by (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceratopogonidae
5. (c) Irina Brake, some rights reserved (CC BY), http://eol.org/data_objects/31907868
6. (c) John Hilty, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://eol.org/data_objects/31875139

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Field/Photo ID for Flies
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• Systema Dipterorum

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