Evening visitor

This teeny-tiny, orange and green midge turned up on my wall in the evening and hung around long enough for me to get a few photos. He didn't like the light when I aimed it at him, by which I gather that he's a night flier.

Non-biting midge, Tanytarsini sp.

He is about 2 millimetres long, or a bit less. I sent his photo in to BugGuide, and they identified him as one of the non-biting midges, of the sub-family Chironominae, and the tribe Tanytarsini. (Those people at BugGuide are amazing; I sent in the photo at midnight, and at 7 in the morning, they'd already moved him into the right place!)

The front legs are about half again as long as the total length of his body.

He. Because I think he's a male; the males have feathered antennae. Look at them in this next photo.

Front end in focus.

Midges are related to the mosquitoes. Some bite, like the noseeums that pester us in the summer. And then there's this whole harmless sub-family; they don't bite, but serve as food for swallows and frogs. And, of course, spiders.

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Este mosquito pequeñito, de colores anaranjado y verde, vino a visitar después de la puesta del sol, y se quedó un tiempo para que le sacara unas fotos. No le gustaba mi luz; ha de ser un insecto que vuela de noche.

Aquí es donde el idioma nos falla. En inglés, hay otra palabra distinta para estos bichitos. "El mosquito" es esa plaga que nos pica y nos deja llenos de hinchazones y que trae enfermedades como la fiebre amarilla. Este mosquito pequeño pertenece a una tribu de la misma familia, pero no pican, y les llamamos "midges". Algunos "midges" pican; por aquí hay muchos muy pequeños a los que les hemos dado el nombre de "noseeums", diciendo que no los vemos, pero sí los sentimos; sus picaduras son peores que las de sus primos grandes, los "mosquitos". Pero esta tribu es inofensiva.

Fotos: el "midge", la primera enfocando en las alas y el abdomen, y la segunda, para ver las antenas. Pertenece a la familia Chironomidae y a la tribu Tanytarsini.

Características: Mide aproximadamente 2 milímetros o menos. Las patas anteriores son tan largas como el cuerpo entero y otra mitad. Creo que es un macho porque los machos tienen las antenas emplumadas; las de las hembras son sencillas.

Estos mosquititos sirven de comida a las golondrinas y a los sapos. Y, claro está, a las arañas.

A well-behaved midge.

I thought this was a crane fly. A very small one, very green, but it was shaped like a crane fly; long abdomen, long legs, inflated thorax, big eyes, two wings and halteres.

Very green.

I sent it in to BugGuide. Where it was promptly identified as a midge.

I thought midges were small and black, and lived to bite me. This one is large, for a midge; I didn't get a chance to measure him, but they run from about 1/2 to 3/4 of a centimetre. And he doesn't bite.

Wonderful antennae! They identify him as a male.

He's a male, one of the Chironomini tribe, a relative of the mosquitoes, cousin to the no-see-ums that pester us around sunset, prettier than all of them.

I took his photos and went home for a ruler, When I got back, he was gone, probably looking for a mate. If he finds her, she will lay her eggs in water somewhere, which will be difficult to find since it hasn't rained here for ages. I wish them well.

Because Canucks fans are wearing mustaches these days

Hairy:

Purple dead nettle, Lamium purpureum

Luna in a rare quiet instant. At the Mothers' Day picnic, Queens Park.

Midge found drowned in my salt water reservoir. The hairy antennae show that it's a male.

Rex, sure, you're a hairy hermit, but don't you think wearing an anemone on your shell is going a bit overboard?

Not hairy:

Red-eared turtle, Cougar Creek Park. Not a Canucks fan.