Urban Nature Pictures 5/14

[urbpan]

I received a report of "mosquito-like" insects in a pump room. (A basement space full of huge pumps for circulating water in water features.) I was skeptical they were mosquitoes, but took the report seriously, since mosquitoes can spread serious diseases, and having them in a building in completely unacceptable. When I got there there were dozens of flying insects surrounding a light:



I got onto a ladder and caught some of them on a glueboard, so I could examine them in good light and try to identify them. As I suspected, they turned out to be Chironomid midges, also known as non-biting midges. They aren't a serious pest issue, but they breed in the same habitat as mosquitoes, so we'll need to figure out where they are coming from and alter the conditions.