The midges are back, but think twice before you swat!
Although midges may be a bit of an annoyance at times, they are vital to the ecosystem
They’re back! Ontario’s annual midge invasion is underway, spreading out in thick swarms that cover everything from trees and rocks to the sides of homes along the lakeshores.
Midges—also known as chironomids or lake flies—are small, non-biting bugs that swarm collectively, and, depending on your location, you may have already seen a lot of them lately.
Midges seen swarming around a home. (Lorraine Parow/Submitted - file photo)
After spending most of their lives at the bottom of bodies of water, midges make their way to land and air in spring for mainly one purpose: to mate.
“What you'll see are these huge swarms or clouds of males, mostly,” explains Antonia Guidotti, Entomology Technician with the Royal Ontario Museum. “And then the females will come along. They'll go into the big cloud, and they'll pick a mate. The female will lay a whole bunch of eggs back in the water. The eggs will fall down, and the larvae will hatch at some point. And you'll get all kinds of larvae in the water, which are really important for our ecosystem.”
You don't need to worry about putting bug repellent on if you encounter a midge swarm, they do not bite. (Michael Vann/The Weather Network)
Guidotti adds that the midges that we're seeing right now emerging from Lake Ontario are non-biting, harmless midges and play an important role in the ecosystem.
“When they begin life as larvae, the midges feed on organic matter up the bottom of the lake or the river, and by doing that, they are cleaning up the sediment,” she says. “Fish feed on them. Frogs feed on them. Ducks and aquatic birds will feed on them as their larvae, once they emerge back out of the water again. They're also food for lots of different birds.”
Midge up close. (Michael Vann/The Weather Network).
Midges need warm water temperatures to develop into adults, which is why we see large swarms in early spring. In the summer, their life cycle can be as brief as two to three weeks, but fortunately, the swarms are smaller during this period.
“The emergence is temporary,” Guidotti reassures. “They don't live for very long. They'll be here for a few days, at the most, a week or two. Be patient. They will go. You will have your midge-free air back.”
Midges are an important part of the ecosystem. (Lorraine Parow/Submitted - file photo)
(Story contains files from Nathan Howes, a digital journalist for the The Weather Network)