Chaoboridae

Chaoboridae, commonly known as phantom midges or glassworms, is a family of fairly common midges with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are closely related to the Corethrellidae and Chironomidae; the adults are differentiated through peculiarities in wing venation.

Chaoboridae
Chaoborus pupa
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Diptera
Superfamily:	Culicoidea
Family:	Chaoboridae Edwards, 1932
Subfamilies
Chaoborinae Eucorethrinae

Male of a species in the family Chaoboridae

Larva of a species of Chaoborus. Note the raptorial antennae

Chaoborus punctipennis

If they eat at all, the adults feed on nectar. The larvae are aquatic and unique in their feeding method: the antennae of phantom midge larvae are modified into grasping organs slightly resembling the raptorial arms of a mantis, with which they capture prey. They feed largely on small insects such as mosquito larvae and crustaceans such as Daphnia. The antennae impale or crush the prey, and then bring it to the larval mouth, or stylet.

The larvae swim and sometimes form large swarms in their lacustrine habitats.

Description

The larvae are nearly transparent, sometimes with a slightly yellow cast; their most opaque features are two air bags, one in the thorax, one in the abdomen about in the second last segment. The adults are delicate flies that closely resemble Chironomidae. Their antennae are 15-segmented and the females' antennae are somewhat bristly; the males' antennae, in contrast, are very plumose. In this respect, too, they resemble many of the Nematocera, and in particular the Chironomidae. The species vary in size from about 2 mm to 10 mm long in their adult stages.

Genera

Chaoboridae larvae

There are about 90 species in the family Chaoboridae in about 17 extant and 11 extinct genera.

• Astrocorethra Kalugina, 1986
• Australomochlonyx Freeman, 1962
• Chaoborites Kalugina 1985
• Chaoborus Lichtenstein, 1800
• Chironomaptera Ping, 1928
• Cryophila Edwards, 1930
• Culicites
• Eucorethra Underwood, 1903
• Eucorethrina Kalugina, 1985
• Helokrenia Kalugina, 1985
• Hypsocorethra Kalugina, 1985
• Mesochaoborus Zhang, Zhang, Liu & Shangguan, 1986
• Mochlonyx Loew, 1844
• Palaeomochlonyx Seredszus & Wichard, 2009
• Peusomyia Sæther, 1970
• Praechaoborus Kalugina, 1985
• Promochlonyx Edwards, 1930
• † Baleiomyia Kalugina, 1993
• † Chachotosha Lukashevich, 1996
• † Chaoburmus Lukashevich, 2000
• † Dixamima Rohdendorf, 1951
• † Gedanoborus Szadziewski & Gilłka, 2007
• † Jordanobotomus Kaddumi, 2005
• † Libanoculex Azar, Nel, Huang & Engel, 2023
• † Mesocorethra Kalugina, 1993
• † Rhaetomyia Rohdendorf, 1962
• † Taimyborus Lukashevich, 1999
• † Triassomyia Lukashevich, 2022

External links

• Citizen science observations for Chaoboridae at iNaturalist
• Image Gallery from Diptera.info
• Media related to Chaoboridae at Wikimedia Commons