JungleDragon is a nature and wildlife community for photographers, travellers and anyone who loves nature. We're genuine, free, ad-free and beautiful.

Join

Midge (Chironomidae) Larva with Midge (Tanypodinae) Larvae Well. This is weird and I wish I had better photos, but this was super hard to photograph. <br /> <br /> What you are looking at is a gelatinous blob with tiny midge eggs (Tanypodinae). In the center of the blob is a large Chironomid larva that appeared to have gotten inside the blob somehow and made itself a tunnel. It was eating the goo or the eggs, I&#039;m not sure. <br /> <br /> ***This photo was taken 48 hours after collection. The tiny midge larva had grown and the gelatinous matrix was really a mess.<br /> <br /> Habitat: Collected in a pond and photographed at home.<br /> <br /> Video on Day 1: <section class="video"><iframe width="448" height="252" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/430465270?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" frameborder="0"></iframe></section><br /> <br /> Video after 48 hours: <section class="video"><iframe width="448" height="252" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/430466114?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" frameborder="0"></iframe></section><br /> <br /> Photo from Day 1 (Day of Collection):<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/95894/midge_chironomidae_larva_with_midge_tanypodinae_eggs.html" title="Midge (Chironomidae) Larva with Midge (Tanypodinae) Eggs"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/3232/95894_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=%2FDHS4psTWq1BV6O0ERnfWyWfb7A%3D" width="200" height="176" alt="Midge (Chironomidae) Larva with Midge (Tanypodinae) Eggs Well. This is weird and I wish I had better photos, but this was super hard to photograph. <br /> <br /> What you are looking at is a gelatinous blob with tiny midge eggs (Tanypodinae). In the center of the blob is a large Chironomid larva that appeared to have gotten inside the blob somehow and made itself a tunnel. It was eating the goo or the eggs, I&#039;m not sure. <br /> <br /> This photo was taken on day 1 - the day of collection.<br /> <br /> Habitat: Collected in a pond and photographed at home.<br /> <br /> Video on Day 1: https://vimeo.com/430465270<br /> <br /> Video after 48 hours: https://vimeo.com/430466114<br /> <br /> Photo from 24 hours after collection:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/95895/midge_chironomidae_larva_with_midge_tanypodinae_larvae.html<br /> <br /> Photo from 48 hours after collection:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/95896/midge_chironomidae_larva_with_midge_tanypodinae_larvae.html Chironomidae,Geotagged,Tanypodinae,United States,eggs,larvae,midge eggs,midge larvae,non-biting midge" /></a></figure><br /> <br /> Photo from 24 hours after collection:<br /> <figure class="photo"><a href="https://www.jungledragon.com/image/95895/midge_chironomidae_larva_with_midge_tanypodinae_larvae.html" title="Midge (Chironomidae) Larva with Midge (Tanypodinae) Larvae"><img src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.jungledragon.com/images/3232/95895_thumb.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=05GMT0V3GWVNE7GGM1R2&Expires=1759968010&Signature=XC0WwPYW42uy%2FYhQfeviv0Ad%2BXA%3D" width="200" height="162" alt="Midge (Chironomidae) Larva with Midge (Tanypodinae) Larvae Well. This is weird and I wish I had better photos, but this was super hard to photograph. <br /> <br /> What you are looking at is a gelatinous blob with tiny midge eggs (Tanypodinae). In the center of the blob is a large Chironomid larva that appeared to have gotten inside the blob somehow and made itself a tunnel. It was eating the goo or the eggs, I&#039;m not sure. <br /> <br /> ***This photo was taken 24 hours after collection. The tiny midge eggs had hatched and the large larva had grown a bit. The gelatinous matrix was beginning to break down.<br /> <br /> Habitat: Collected in a pond and photographed at home.<br /> <br /> Video on Day 1: https://vimeo.com/430465270<br /> <br /> Video after 48 hours: https://vimeo.com/430466114<br /> <br /> Photo from Day 1 (Day of Collection):<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/95894/midge_chironomidae_larva_with_midge_tanypodinae_eggs.html<br /> <br /> Photo from 48 hours after collection:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/95896/midge_chironomidae_larva_with_midge_tanypodinae_larvae.html Geotagged,Spring,United States" /></a></figure><br /> <br /> <br /> Geotagged,United States Click/tap to enlarge

Midge (Chironomidae) Larva with Midge (Tanypodinae) Larvae

Well. This is weird and I wish I had better photos, but this was super hard to photograph.

What you are looking at is a gelatinous blob with tiny midge eggs (Tanypodinae). In the center of the blob is a large Chironomid larva that appeared to have gotten inside the blob somehow and made itself a tunnel. It was eating the goo or the eggs, I'm not sure.

***This photo was taken 48 hours after collection. The tiny midge larva had grown and the gelatinous matrix was really a mess.

Habitat: Collected in a pond and photographed at home.

Video on Day 1:



Video after 48 hours:


Photo from Day 1 (Day of Collection):
Midge (Chironomidae) Larva with Midge (Tanypodinae) Eggs Well. This is weird and I wish I had better photos, but this was super hard to photograph. <br /> <br /> What you are looking at is a gelatinous blob with tiny midge eggs (Tanypodinae). In the center of the blob is a large Chironomid larva that appeared to have gotten inside the blob somehow and made itself a tunnel. It was eating the goo or the eggs, I'm not sure. <br /> <br /> This photo was taken on day 1 - the day of collection.<br /> <br /> Habitat: Collected in a pond and photographed at home.<br /> <br /> Video on Day 1: https://vimeo.com/430465270<br /> <br /> Video after 48 hours: https://vimeo.com/430466114<br /> <br /> Photo from 24 hours after collection:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/95895/midge_chironomidae_larva_with_midge_tanypodinae_larvae.html<br /> <br /> Photo from 48 hours after collection:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/95896/midge_chironomidae_larva_with_midge_tanypodinae_larvae.html Chironomidae,Geotagged,Tanypodinae,United States,eggs,larvae,midge eggs,midge larvae,non-biting midge


Photo from 24 hours after collection:
Midge (Chironomidae) Larva with Midge (Tanypodinae) Larvae Well. This is weird and I wish I had better photos, but this was super hard to photograph. <br /> <br /> What you are looking at is a gelatinous blob with tiny midge eggs (Tanypodinae). In the center of the blob is a large Chironomid larva that appeared to have gotten inside the blob somehow and made itself a tunnel. It was eating the goo or the eggs, I'm not sure. <br /> <br /> ***This photo was taken 24 hours after collection. The tiny midge eggs had hatched and the large larva had grown a bit. The gelatinous matrix was beginning to break down.<br /> <br /> Habitat: Collected in a pond and photographed at home.<br /> <br /> Video on Day 1: https://vimeo.com/430465270<br /> <br /> Video after 48 hours: https://vimeo.com/430466114<br /> <br /> Photo from Day 1 (Day of Collection):<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/95894/midge_chironomidae_larva_with_midge_tanypodinae_eggs.html<br /> <br /> Photo from 48 hours after collection:<br /> https://www.jungledragon.com/image/95896/midge_chironomidae_larva_with_midge_tanypodinae_larvae.html Geotagged,Spring,United States



    comments (4)

  1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
    Ferdy Christant
    Lion
    View Lion class
    This is so wild, confusing, and alien!

    By chance, 2 days ago I also collected some midge larvae (and everything that comes with it) and had a wild time looking at it. Midge larvae of many sizes, also in pupa stage, everything seemingly eating each other.

    Your new hobby has great promise, thanks for this awesome post!     Posted 5 years ago
    1. View Christine Young's profile
      Christine Young
      Lion
      View Lion class
      Thanks!

      It was and is so awesome and I'm annoyed by the photo quality. I'm ordering extra lighting today because I realized that the internal microscope light produces unbearable glare on wet subjects. And, taking photos of a wet blob of goo was really hard to begin with. I hope I can keep the larvae alive a bit longer and document the changes each day.

      Very cool that you just collected some as well.

      I really want to know WHY that big larva is inside the goo blob of a different species. Totally weird. Is it eating the larvae or the goo? I can't tell. But, I LOVE the way the big larva wiggles in the center like an excited puppy in the videos.       Posted 5 years ago, modified 5 years ago
      1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
        Ferdy Christant
        Lion
        View Lion class
        I have no idea if it was eating them, but I would not be surprised, I saw several larvae going after each other, or at least it seemed that way.

        I really think these photos are already remarkable, a solid technical quality to build on!         Posted 5 years ago
        1. View Christine Young's profile
          Christine Young
          Lion
          View Lion class
          Thanks! Midge larvae are definitely wild to watch! Posted 5 years ago

Sign in or Join in order to comment.

No species identified

The species on this photo is not identified yet. When signed in, you can identify species on photos that you uploaded. If you have earned the social image editing capability, you can also identify species on photos uploaded by others.

View Christine Young's profile

By Christine Young

All rights reserved
Uploaded Jun 18, 2020. Captured in 5 East St, New Milford, CT 06776, USA.
country flag of United States of America Explore United States of America 39,964 9,645 8