Midges comprise many kinds of very small two-winged flies found world-wide. The term does not encapsulate a well-defined taxonomic group, but includes animals in several families

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 of Nematocera

Nematocera

Nematocera , is a suborder of elongated flies with thin, segmented antennae and mostly aquatic larvae, consisting of the mosquitoes, crane flies, gnats, and midges....

n Diptera

Diptera

Diptera , or true flies, is the order of insects possessing only a single pair of wings on the mesothorax; the metathorax bears a pair of drumstick like structures called the halteres, the remnants of the hind wings. It is a large order, containing an estimated 240,000 species, although under half...

. While some midges are vectors for disease, many others play useful roles as prey items for insectivores

Insectivore

An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....

, such as frogs

Wallum Sedge Frog

The Wallum Sedge Frog , also known as the Olongburra Frog or the Sharp-snouted Reed Frog, is endemic to Australia. Varying in color from brown to dark green it inhabits the thick and often acidic marshes of the Wallum along the coast of Queensland and New South Wales. Mating season comes in early...

. The habits of midges vary greatly among the component families, which include:

• Blephariceridae
  Blephariceridae
  Blephariceridae, commonly known as Net-winged midges, are a nematoceran family in the order Diptera. The adults resemble crane flies except with a projecting anal angle in the wings, and different head shape, absence of the V on the mesonotum, and more laterally outstretched forward-facing legs...
  
  , net-winged midges
• Cecidomyiidae
  Cecidomyiidae
  Cecidomyiidae is a family of flies known as gall midges or gall gnats. As the name implies, the larvae of most gall midges feed within plant tissue, creating abnormal plant growths called galls.These are very fragile small insects usually only 2–3 mm in length and many are less than...
  
  , gall midges
• Ceratopogonidae
  Ceratopogonidae
  Ceratopogonidae, or biting midges , are a family of small flies in the order Diptera...
  
  , biting midges (also known as no-see-ums or punkies in North America
  North America
  North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
  
  )
• Chaoboridae
  Chaoboridae
  Chaoboridae, commonly known as phantom midges, are a family of fairly common midges with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are closely related to Corethrellidae and Chironomidae; the adults are differentiated through peculiarities in wing venation. If they eat at all, the adults feed on nectar. The...
  
  , phantom midges
• Chironomidae
  Chironomidae
  Chironomidae are a family of nematoceran flies with a global distribution. They are closely related to the Ceratopogonidae, Simuliidae, and Thaumaleidae...
  
  , non-biting midges (also known as muffleheads in the Great Lakes
  Great Lakes
  The Great Lakes are a collection of freshwater lakes located in northeastern North America, on the Canada – United States border. Consisting of Lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, they form the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth by total surface, coming in second by volume...
  
   region of North America
  North America
  North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
  
  )
• Deuterophlebiidae, mountain midges
• Dixidae
  Dixidae
  The Dixidae are a family of aquatic nematoceran Diptera. The larvae live in unpolluted, standing fresh waters, just beneath the surface film, usually amongst marginal aquatic vegetation .-External links:* Family description and image....
  
  , meniscus midges
• Scatopsidae
  Scatopsidae
  The minute black scavenger flies or "dung midges", Scatopsidae, is a family of Nematoceran flies. Despite being distributed throughout the world, it is quite a small family with only around 250 described species in 27 genera although many await description and doubtless even more await discovery...
  
  , dung midges
• Thaumaleidae
  Thaumaleidae
  Thaumaleidae, the solitary midges or trickle midges, are a group of nematoceran flies related to the Ceratopogonidae, Chironomidae, and the Simuliidae. They are small, stocky, yellow to brown flies . There are very few species known for this family...
  
  , solitary midges

The Ceratopogonidae

Ceratopogonidae

Ceratopogonidae, or biting midges , are a family of small flies in the order Diptera...

 (biting midges) include serious blood-sucking pests, feeding both on humans and other mammals.