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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Flies (Diptera) » "Nematocera" (Non-Brachycera) » Mosquitoes and Midges (Culicomorpha) » Non-biting Midges (Chironomidae) » Tanypodinae » Tanypus

Genus Tanypus

Midge - Tanypus Apelopia Midge - Tanypus Midge - Tanypus Chironomidae: Tanypus? - Tanypus - female chironomid midge - Tanypus punctipennis - male Midge IMG_6178 - Tanypus - female Tanypus Fly - Tanypus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Diptera (Flies)
No Taxon ("Nematocera" (Non-Brachycera))
Infraorder Culicomorpha (Mosquitoes and Midges)
Family Chironomidae (Non-biting Midges)
Subfamily Tanypodinae
Genus Tanypus
Explanation of Names
Pelopia Meigen 1800 (suppressed)
Tanypus Meigen 1803
Numbers
14 species listed at Nomina-Nearctica
Identification
Veins R2+3 and M-Cu present.(1) M-Cu intersects Cu before fork. C extends beyond R4+5. Wing generally with strong pattern of spots. Wings with macrotrichia on membrane, sometimes restricted to apex. Fourth tarsal segment cylindrical.(2) Rear legs unusually long for midges.

"Tanypus larvae may be distinguished by the stout mandible (the apical tooth appears small in relation to the remainder of the mandible); well developed, transverse dorsomental teeth; lack of a pseudoradula; and the well developed lateral setal fringe on the body."(3)
Range
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Worldwide except Australia. In North America, continental US and southern tier of Canadian provinces.
Habitat
"Larvae are usually found in or on soft sediments of marshes, ponds and lakes but also occur in the slower portions and side pools of streams and rivers. Tanypus carinatus and T. neopunctipennis can be common in organically enriched systems." Some species live in brackish water.(3)
Food
"The larvae feed on the soft parts of chironomid larvae (the head capsule is not engulfed as in many other Tanypodinae), worms, diatoms and plant parts."(3)
Internet References
ITIS
ITIS Catalogue of Life : 2008 Annual Checklist
Works Cited
1.Aquatic Insects of North America
R. W. Merritt, K. W. Cummins, M.B. Berg. 2008. Kendall/Hunt.
2.Adults of the Subfamily Tanypodinae in North America
Selwyn S. Roback. 1971. Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
3.Identification Manual for the Larval Chironomidae (Diptera) of North and South Carolina
Contributed by Ted Kropiewnicki on 10 November, 2008 - 10:51pm
Additional contributions by Vox Sciurorum
Last updated 13 November, 2009 - 9:21pm

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