Life Cycle of Culicoides
Biting midges, called by the scientific name Culicoides spp., and the common name no-see-ums, are best known for irritating anyone spending time outdoors, especially in the evenings or on cloudy days. While their bites are painful and can cause lesions on some people--as well as spread diseases among humans and animals in some parts of the world--most of the time the offending insect is not seen. There are more than 4,000 species of biting midges. They tend to live and breed, depending upon their species, near salt marshes, highly organic soil or near locations with lots of animal manure. While the life cycle varies some depending upon the species, most biting midge species follow a similar developmental sequence. Does this Spark an idea?
Egg
The biting midge egg is oval and very small. They are white and slowly turn to a brown or black color as they mature. The female midge deposits the egg on moist soil and the eggs must remain moist until the larvae hatch.
Larvae
The larvae, a white worm, generally hatches within 2 to 10 days, but can last up to a year, after the egg is laid, with environmental factors playing a role in how quickly the egg hatches. The biting midge larvae require water and air to develop and are usually found in marshes and swamps and on the shores of streams and ponds.
Pupae
After going through four stages of development, the larva develops into a yellow to brown colored pupa. In some species of biting midge, the maturing insect will pupate in a cocoon and in others without. In most species, environmental conditions---such as moisture and time of year---will determine how quickly the pupa emerges as an adult, but usually the pupae stage lasts about six weeks.
Adult
The adult midge will be less than 1/8-inch long and gray in color. Its two wings will be dense with hair. Biting midges are generally active only during dawn and dusk and are inactive during windy weather. They will not travel far from the area in which they hatched before dying after a few weeks in their adult form.
Reproduction
The male fly generally emerges from the pupal stage before the female and is ready to mate as soon as the females emerge. Mating occurs in swarms in most species of the biting midge. Only the female biting midge will suck blood from her victims. This blood meal is necessary for the development of her eggs. The adult biting midge may lay as many as 450 eggs in a batch and may lay as many as seven batches in her lifetime. The complete reproductive life cycle of the biting midge can occur in two weeks, if environmental conditions are favorable.
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