order
                        
                      
                                    Coleoptera
                                       “Adult Beetles”
                                  
                                    Coleoptera
                                       “Larval Beetles”
                                  
                                    Diptera
                                       “True Flies”
                                  
                                    Ephemeroptera
                                       “Mayflies”
                                  
                                    Hemiptera
                                       “True Bugs”
                                  
                                    Lepidoptera
                                       “Aquatic Caterpillars, Snout Moths”
                                  
                                    Megaloptera
                                       “Alderflies, Dobsonflies, and Fishflies”
                                  
                                    Odonata
                                       “Dragonflies and Damselflies”
                                  
                                    Plecoptera
                                       “Stoneflies”
                                  
                                    Trichoptera
                                       “Caddisflies”
                                 family
                        
                     Chironomidae
               
            Chironomus
            
                  “Non-Biting Midges, Midges”
               
      Genus Overview
                  
               
                        There are more than 20 species of Chironomus. The genus is known commonly as blood worms in the aquarium trade and species are used as fish food.  They get the name from their bright red color, produced by a type of hemoglobin-like protein.  
                  
               Characteristics
                  
               POLLUTION TOLERANCE
                        Southeast: 9.8 and higher
                                 Upper Midwest: 10 and higher
                                 Midwest: 8.1 and higher
                                 Mid-Atlantic: 10 and higher
                              0 = least tolerant, 10 = most tolerant
                        FEEDING HABITS
                        
                                 Collector / Filterer
Collector / Gatherer
Shredder / Herbivore
                        
                     Collector / Gatherer
Shredder / Herbivore
MOVEMENT
                        
                                 Burrower
                        
                     DISTRIBUTION
                        
                                 Widespread (east of the Rocky Mtns.)
                        
                     HABITAT
                        
                                 Lentic-littoral
Lentic-profundal
Lotic-depositional
                        
                     Lentic-profundal
Lotic-depositional
Diagnostic Characters
               order
                         
                                       
                                       
                                    Legs Absent
                                 family
                         
                                       
                                       
                                    Head Complete and Exposed
                                  
                                       
                                       
                                    Thoracic And Anal Prolegs
                                 genus
                         
                                       
                                       
                                    Abdominal Tubules
                                 
                  + Expanded Character List
                  
                     
               
            
                        Order:
                           Wings and wing pads absent. Eye spots sometimes visible, but compound eyes absent. Segmented legs absent, but sometimes fleshy prolegs present. Sometimes with distinct head, often without head or with head drawn deeply into thorax. Body flattened, cylindrical, or maggot-like.
                     
                     
                        Family:
                           Mandibles move against each other along horizontal or oblique plane. Head complete and fully exposed. Hook-bearing prothoracic and anal prolegs paired, though division may be slight and only at apex. Spiracles absent (apneustic). Body segments usually without conspicuous dorsal tubercles and setae as in some Ceratopogonidae.
                     
                     
                        Genus:
                           mentum with ventromental plates, large tubercles on the abdominal segments, stria on the mandibles
                     
                   
                   
            Lateral
               Ventral
               


