| Midges | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abiting midge feeding on blood through an artificial membrane for insect rearing | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | |
| Phylum: | |
| Class: | |
| Order: | |
| Suborder: | |
Midge is a common term for many types of smallfly. They are all in asuborder, theNematocera.
They are found on practically every land area except permanently drydeserts and the frozen zones. Some midges, such as manyPhlebotominae (sand fly) andSimuliidae (black fly), arevectors of variousdiseases. Others are prey items forinsectivores, such as variousfrogs andswallows.
Thehighland midge ofScotland (Culicoides impunctatus) is present in huge numbers. It is a significant blood-sucking pest. It is found in upland and lowland areas (fens,bogs andmarshes) especially in the north west of Scotland from late spring to late summer.[1]
The habits of midges vary greatly from species to species, though within any particular family midges commonly have similar ecological roles. Examples of families which include midges are:[2]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)