Will it Bite?

  Will it Bite? A mosquito-looking insect just landed on you and you’re worried that it might bite, ergo leaving you very unhappy and uncomfortable. Then, you think about how there is the possibility of it transmitting a deadly disease and now your day has gotten even worse. However, this insect may not even be a mosquito, but a type of Diptera from the family Chironomidae, commonly known as a midge. This specific family of midges does not bite. So how do you tell the difference between a midge and a mosquito? Midges are different from mosquitos in various ways. First, midges do not have scales on their wings like mosquitoes do. Another anatomical difference related to the wings is that mosquitoes have wings that are longer than their body whereas midges have wings that are shorter than the length of their body (Hillsborough County Florida). Midges also have a mouthpart that is very short and not used for biting (Ebeling, 2002). Mosquitoes have a long, tube-like mouthpart called ...