Ceratopogoninae

biting midges

Tribe Guides

6

Ceratopogoninae is a of biting midges within Ceratopogonidae, comprising both blood-sucking forms (Culicoidini) and insectivorous . The subfamily includes six tribes with diverse feeding strategies: some feed on vertebrate blood, while others are obligate predators of small insects. Larval varies substantially—some are aquatic or semiaquatic, while others occupy moist terrestrial microhabitats such as rotting wood, leaf axils, and nests. The group exhibits notable behavioral complexity, including prey-specific hunting strategies and, in some lineages, sexual during mating.

Ceratopogonini by (c) Bill Keim, some rights reserved (CC BY). Used under a CC-BY license.Sphaeromias by (c) Donald Hobern, some rights reserved (CC BY). Used under a CC-BY license.Jenkinshelea albaria by (c) Even Dankowicz, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Even Dankowicz. Used under a CC-BY license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Ceratopogoninae: /ˌsɛrətoʊˌpoʊˈdʒɪni.aɪ/

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Habitat

Moist worldwide, especially abundant at lake margins. Larval habitats are diverse: aquatic or semiaquatic environments for many ; moist terrestrial microhabitats including beneath rotting bark of fallen trees, hollow tap roots of dead plants, wounds and rot holes in trees, drying manure, decaying fungi, nests, and leaf axils of plants such as Dracaena for some .

Distribution

Worldwide distribution; European documented for such as Forcipomyia and Apelma; African species recorded (e.g., Apelma from Dracaena leaf axils); closely related forms include Euforcipomyia and other subgenera.

Diet

: variable by tribe—Culicoidini feed on vertebrate blood; insectivorous tribes (Heteromyiini, Sphaeromiini, Palpomyiini, Ceratopogonini, Stilobezziini) prey on males of other and smaller Ephemeroptera, captured in by entering male mating swarms. Prey is held by legs, perforated by , injected with proteolytic saliva, and liquefied tissue is sucked out; multiple prey individuals usually required per ovarian cycle. Larvae: most are predatory.

Life Cycle

Four larval instars in studied (each approximately one week in Forcipomyia); pupal stage approximately one week; three per year in some temperate ; hibernation as third or fourth instar larvae in known European species; lifespan undetermined.

Behavior

Insectivorous females hunt by entering male mating swarms of prey insects, hovering at swarm-determining landmarks, and striking prey from a hovering position; this hunting method parallels the established behavioral pattern for locating male swarms for mating. Strongly gregarious forms in non-aquatic . In three tribes (Heteromyiini, Sphaeromiini, Palpomyiini), females frequently consume males during mating—males in these lineages are dwarfs with reduced (auditory) ; males are pierced through the and reduced to empty by lytic saliva, with terminalia often remaining attached. Mobbing of by intended prey (mosquitoes) has been observed. Long tubular abdominal glands, often everted in , present in several genera with unclear function.

Ecological Role

on small insects; may influence of prey (, Ephemeroptera) through selective on males.

Sources and further reading