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Genus Cricotopus

midge - Cricotopus - female fly I think? - Cricotopus - female Unknown Tiny Bug - Cricotopus - female Diptera - Cricotopus - female Barred yellow midge - Cricotopus - female Midge - Cricotopus - male midge with black and white striped abdomen - Cricotopus - male Midge (subgenus Isocladius) - Cricotopus - female
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 Orthocladiinae
Genus Cricotopus
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Cricotopus van der Wulp 1874
Numbers
Nearctica lists 63 species.
Identification
Within Orthocladiinae light bands on the first front tarsal segment and the abdomen point to Cricotopus. The reverse is not true -- some species of Cricotopus are not banded and need to be identified by less obvious characters.

Larvae are nearly indistinguishable from Orthocladius (Orthocladius); despite the differences in adult color the genera are closely related.
Habitat
"Larvae are found in a variety of aquatic habitats, where they are often associated with plants. C. (Isocladius) species tend to be more common in lentic conditions; C. (Cricotopus) species are more common in lotic situations; C. (Nostococladius) is associated with the blue-green alga Nostoc. Some Cricotopus larvae may be economically important as pests in rice fields (members of the C. (I.) sylvestris group) and as biocontrol agents for nuisance aquatic plants (C. (I.) lebetis for hydrilla). Cricotopus bicinctus and C. infuscatus are tolerant of many types of water pollution."(1)
Internet References
A key to the Cricotopus species of the Northeast USA is available online, but is not reliable in separating some closely related species.