Overview
Culicoidea is a within the order Diptera. The following families are included within the Culicoidea:
- Dixidae – meniscus midges
- Corethrellidae – frog-biting midges
- Chaoboridae – phantom midges
- Culicidae – mosquitoes
Photos
Taxonomy
The Superfamily Culicoidea is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Family (4): Chaoboridae · Corethrellidae · Culicidae · Dixidae
Families
Chaoboridae
Chaoboridae, commonly known as phantom midges, are a family of fairly common midges with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are closely related to and Chironomidae; the adults are differentiated through peculiarities in wing venation. If they eat at all, the adults feed on nectar. The larvae are aquatic. They are unique due to their feeding method. The antennae of phantom midge larvae are modified into a grasping organ, which captures food, such as small insect larvae and crustaceans like Daphnia and mosquito larvae. The antennae impale or crush the prey and then bring it to the larval mouth, or stylet. The larvae sometimes move about their lacustrine habitats in large swarms. [more]
Corethrellidae
Culicidae
Mosquito (from the meaning little fly) is a common insect in the family Culicidae (from the Latin culex meaning midge or gnat). [more]
Dixidae
The Dixidae (meniscus ) are a family of aquatic nematoceran Diptera. The larvae live in unpolluted, standing fresh waters, just beneath the surface film, usually amongst marginal aquatic vegetation . [more]
At least 203 species and subspecies belong to the Family Dixidae.
More info about the Family Dixidae may be found here.
References
- McAlpine, J.F., B.V. Peterson, G.E. Shewell, H.J. Teskey, J.R. Vockeroth, and D.M. Wood. Manual of Nearctic Diptera, Volume 1. Agriculture Canada Monograph 27.
Sources
- The text on this page is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It includes material from Wikipedia retrieved Thursday, August 13, 2009.
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