Chironomids of Hawai'i II

Chironomids are non-biting midges that come from the family Chironomidae (Order: Diptera). Although Chironomidae is a widely distributed and diverse family, they are extremely hard to identify, causing their diversity to go unnoticed. They resemble mosquitoes and are often mistaken as such to the untrained eye. However, they lack the elongated mouthparts and wing scales associated with mosquitoes. Larvae are aquatic or semi-aquatic and can be found in various habitats (i.e. soil, tree holes, swamps, sewage, etc.). Both larvae and adults serve as an important food source for aquatic organisms, including fish, newts, and other insects during their aquatic larval phase (i.e. water beetles, predatory hemipterans, etc.). Larval chironomids are also important indicator species. They can thrive in anoxic or highly polluted conditions, and are therefore associated with low-biodiversity ecosystems. The presence or absence of chironomids can indicate whether pollutants are present, and if so, to what capacity. Please help transcribe the UHIM's chironomid collection in order to better help us understand their distribution and impact in Hawai'i.This expedition of 516 tasks is fully transcribed and validated. This data resource is harvested periodically into the main occurrence index.