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
                        
                     Ceratopogonidae
               
            genus
                     Probezzia
            
                  “Biting Midges”
               
      Genus Overview
                  
               
                        This widespread genus of biting midges includes 24 North American species. It is found in lakes near sandy shores, among rooted plants, and swimming in open water.
                  
               Characteristics
                  
               POLLUTION TOLERANCE
                        Mid-Atlantic: 6 and higher
                              0 = least tolerant, 10 = most tolerant
                        FEEDING HABITS
                        
                                 Engulfer / Predator
                        
                     MOVEMENT
                        
                                 Burrower
Planktonic
Swimmer
                        
                     Planktonic
Swimmer
DISTRIBUTION
                        
                                 Widespread (east of the Rocky Mtns.)
                        
                     HABITAT
                        
                                 Lentic-limnetic
Lentic-littoral
                        
                     Lentic-littoral
Diagnostic Characters
               order
                         
                                       
                                       
                                    Legs Absent
                                 family
                         
                                       
                                       
                                    Head Complete and Exposed
                                  
                                       
                                       
                                    With Or Without Prolegs
                                 
                  + 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 a horizontal or oblique plane. Head complete and fully exposed. Spiracles absent (apneustic). Thoracic segments individually distinguishable. Thorax and abdomen similar in diameter or abdomen wider. If prothorax without prolegs, body usually smooth, shiny, and cream-colored, usually without any surface features except few setae, especially posteriorly, and sometimes single retractile anal proleg bearing few hooks. If prothorax with pair of ventral prolegs, then prothoracic and anal prolegs usually paired (even if divison slight and only at apex) and distinct dorsal fleshy projections and/or setae along body. Mature larvae approximately 2–15 mm long. 
                     
                     
                        Genus:
                           Larva long, slender, shiny, almost featureless. Head capsule sclerotized, more than 1.8–2.0 times as long as wide, and conspicuously constricted anteriorly. Sclerotized posterior collar of head with half-circle expansion. Dorsal tubercles and setae absent. Setae of last abdominal segment (anal division) about 1/3 length of segment.  Anal proleg absent.
                     
                   
            Ventral
               


