Ceratopogonidae
| Ceratopogonidae | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| A female biting midge, Culicoides sonorensis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Suborder: | |
| Infraorder: | Culicomorpha |
| Superfamily: | Chironomoidea |
| Family: | Ceratopogonidae |
| Subfamilies | |
Forcipomyiinae
Dasyheleinae
Ceratopogoninae
Ceratopogonidae, or biting midges, are a family of small flies (1–4 mm long) in the order Diptera. They are also known as no-see-ums, midgies, sand flies, punkies, and others in North America, and sandflies in Australia. (The name "sandfly" is ambiguous, as it is also applied informally to many other flies, such as the subfamily Phlebotominae.) They are closely related to the Chironomidae, Simuliidae (or black flies), and Thaumaleidae.
They are found in almost any aquatic or semiaquatic habitat throughout the world, as well as in mountain areas. Females of most species are adapted to suck blood from some kind of host animal for the purpose of anautogenous reproduction. Culicoides, Forcipomyia (Lasiohelea), and suck vertebrate blood. Some Atrichopogon and Forcipomyia species are ectoparasites on larger insects. Dasyhelea species feed exclusively on nectar. Species in other genera are predatory on other small insects. Larvae are always found in some damp location, such as under bark, in rotten wood, compost, mud, stream margins, tree holes, or water-holding plants (i.e., phytotelmata).
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