Bell mosquitoes in an apartment, how to get rid of green mosquitoes

The bell mosquito is a representative of a wide order of Diptera. As the name suggests, this is a close relative of bloodsuckers, which gather in flocks on warm summer evenings and bother warm-blooded creatures, including humans. However, the bells are collected into a special family. Scientists classify them as a separate category of insects, since they are quite different from ordinary mosquitoes. And it’s not just about appearance, but also about the nature of nutrition, reproduction, body structure and other aspects.

Bells are extremely numerous in their diversity.
There are more than 7 thousand varieties of these representatives on earth. They are tenacious and well adapted to different conditions. They are found throughout the planet, not common except in the most extreme conditions with low or too high temperatures. In Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and all countries of the former Soviet Union, ringing mosquitoes are also found in large numbers. At least 900 species are known, and this does not include undescribed species, of which there are also many, according to scientists. Does a lamp help against mosquitoes?
Does a lamp help against mosquitoes?

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Next, we will try to figure out how dangerous green mosquitoes are and whether we need to fight them.

Peculiarities

The twitch mosquito, also called chironomid, belongs to the order Diptera. Due to the fact that an adult mosquito has an underdeveloped mouthparts, it cannot take food. But the bell mosquito larva feeds on microorganisms and detritus. Some of the individuals may be predators.

For humans, this species of mosquitoes, which live in reed thickets and ponds, does not pose a danger.

These insects are hardy, so they are found in many countries. Some subspecies live in Antarctica. They are not afraid of severe frosts or heat. Residents of Antarctica are distinguished by their dark color, which eliminates the possibility of death in severe frosts. They are classified as wingless.

Zvontsy are green mosquitoes, the body size does not exceed 1 cm. Sometimes the color has a gray, yellow or black tint. The jerk family has more than 3,000 species. These are quite hardy individuals that can be found almost anywhere in the world.

They are representatives of the largest population in Antarctica. Also, green mosquito larvae are able to survive high temperatures, heat, frost and complete drying. They have an amazing ability to survive.

In literary sources, this species can also be found under the name of jerks or chironomids. They began to be called jerks due to their behavior. These individuals never rest on their front legs.

During landing, the bell stands on its hind legs, and the front legs are always directed upward. As a result, the body constantly twitches. For this, green mosquitoes received their second name. Chironomidae is the Latin name for representatives of Diptera.

The bells got their name because of the characteristic sound that occurs as a result of the high frequency of flapping of their wings.

Interesting representatives

In nature, there are more than 4 thousand varieties of this family, some of them have such an attractive appearance that they are admired like butterflies.

The festive centipede or decorated ctenophora leaves no one indifferent and does not cause fear. The name speaks for itself. The photo is shown below.

Festive centipede

It lives in our area and is included in the Red Book of Russia and Ukraine. Body length reaches 26 mm. He practically cannot fly, although his wings are quite large. It also bites, feeds on the juices of plants, fruits, and nectar. The larvae are pests and damage deciduous trees.

Amazing color with black, yellow, orange, brown. The abdomen is striped, slightly reminiscent of a wasp. The same long limbs, but colored black and orange. Males have lemon-colored antennae. Insect larvae develop in rotten wood and old hollows. The reason for the extinction of the species is intensive deforestation of broad-leaved forests.

Appearance of an insect

The jerk mosquito can have various external features. This diversity is due to the wide habitat of individuals. Looking at the photo of the bell mosquito, one can note the different shape of the head, features of the aircraft, different lengths of the antennae, but otherwise the body structure is the same as that of all its fellows.

An adult bell mosquito is similar to an ordinary mosquito, or culex (genus Culex), but differs from it in its larger size, extremely densely feathered antennae and a peculiar manner of sitting, with its front legs extended forward, which it continuously twitches.

Bell mosquitoes have a gray, greenish (Chironomus plumosus) or yellowish body and a yellow abdomen with dark spots. The body size is 9-12 mm, which is larger than that of the Culex (7 mm). When a mosquito sits, it rests only on its middle and hind legs, while its front legs serve as an organ of touch - the mosquito keeps them raised and continuously twitches them. Apparently, in this way they detect the approach of danger.

The horny organs of bell mosquitoes are not developed (both males and females), so they do not feed and live only 3-7 days. Naturally, they don’t suck blood either. The easiest time to see bells is during the breeding season, when they form swarms near water bodies, above bushes, haystacks, tree tops and other objects towering above the general area.

If there is a person nearby, the swarm will spin right above him. The swarm produces a thin melodic ringing that can be heard from afar. Inside the swarm, mosquitoes either suddenly fly up or passively fall down.

The famous bloodworm

It is not often in the natural world that a larva becomes more famous than its winged parent. The reddish worm-like larvae of the bell mosquito call bloodworms.

Aquarists and fishermen are familiar with them. Bloodworms are a favorite food for fish and amphibians.

Scientists also respect bloodworms. Its salivary glands contain simply giant cells

by the standards of the cellular structure of animals. The core in them can be seen with the naked eye. Therefore, bloodworms participate in research, helping to develop medicines, methods of combating blood-sucking mosquitoes, and helping to better understand the mechanisms of cell functioning.

It is no coincidence that the salivary glands of bloodworms are so developed. The larva lives at the bottom of the reservoir, eats rotting plant debris, microorganisms, and in order to somehow protect itself, it builds a tube around itself in which it hides. The salivary glands produce glue

with which she glues various particles into a tube-case.

And the bloodworm is a real astronaut!
Bell bell larvae can dry out, but if you place them in water, they come to life. Dried mosquito larvae were taken into space and 80% came to life when water was added.

Life cycle

The mosquito mosquito has a very short life cycle, from 3 to 7 days. These insects were named bells because male mosquitoes gather in swarms and make a ringing sound while flying in the air. This is how they call females. Hearing the ringing, the females fly into the flock, and within a few seconds fertilization occurs.

Another name for bells is chironomids.

Another name is the jerk mosquito, which the insect received because of its specific landing. When sitting on the surface, mosquitoes rely only on the middle and hind pair of legs. Since the front legs are raised, the mosquito twitches.

The jerk mosquito has a very short life cycle. Individuals spend most of it in the larval stage.

After reaching sexual maturity, adults can live for about 2-3 days. The bell larva leads an active lifestyle. It is found in any type of reservoir, manure, trees, and many other moist substrates. Most of the individuals feed on the filtrate of silt plants.

They settle in various places:

Why is the centipede mosquito dangerous?

In reservoirs.
On fruit and wild trees.
In silt or wet soil.
In manure.

As food, the larvae use filtrate, which is formed by silt vegetation, as well as microorganisms present in the soil. Adult green mosquitoes form a clutch of eggs all once, after which they die immediately.

For laying, pests select those places where there is a wet substrate or silt. To protect the eggs, a peculiar gelatinous substance is used that covers them. Entomologists use this feature to distinguish a clutch of chironomids.

The adult female dies immediately after laying eggs. The place where the successor of the family lays eggs is silt. A distinctive feature of the clutch of green mosquitoes is that all the eggs are covered in a common gelatinous mass.

After hatching, the larvae turn red. This is due to the presence of hemoglobin, which allows representatives of the bells to live even in conditions with a limited amount of oxygen. The lifespan of male mosquitoes reaches 2 years, but this is in rare cases. Most bells die within a few days of growing up.

This is due to the immaturity of the oral apparatus, which does not allow adult jerks to consume any food. Sometimes bell ringers at the adult insect stage use honeydew or flower nectar as a food source, which allows them to prolong their life.

Danger to humans

Such a swarm should not be allowed into the house - there are many means of protection

Bloodsucking squeaks can be carriers of diseases dangerous to humans and animals. For example, meningitis, infectious eczema, encephalitis. Therefore, if you are going outdoors, especially with small children, then you should think about how to protect yourself from bites. Children, as a rule, scratch bites until they bleed; this is very dangerous, because you can get streptoderma. Green mosquitoes are absolutely safe for humans, they can only annoy you with their ringing and are not carriers. Moreover, their larvae in the natural cycle are an indispensable food for vertebrate waterfowl.

Insect	Body length	Lifespan	Nutrition	Wednesday	Life cycle	Carrier
Squeaker mosquito	from 2 to 8 mm	from 42 to 115 days	female by blood, male by plant juices	everywhere	egg, larva, pupa	miningitis, encephalitis
midge mosquito	from 7.5 to 11	from to 7 days	doesn't eat	everywhere near bodies of water	egg, larva, pupa	can't stand it

Reproduction

These green colored insects swarm in very large numbers to mate. Female chironomids then lay their eggs in water, on aquatic plants, or in moist soil near water sources. Since the life cycle of bell mosquitoes is quite short, about a month, up to 5 generations of these insects reproduce over the summer.

Mosquitoes perform more than 600 wing beats per second

Of course, the number of generations depends on the temperature and humidity at the breeding site. The life cycle of bell mosquitoes begins with the breeding season. On quiet, warm spring and summer evenings in the meadows, along the banks of large and small bodies of water, you can hear a thin, piercing ringing, and if you look closely, you can see its source - a swarm of some kind of mosquitoes spinning in the air.

These are male bell mosquitoes. Sometimes such swarms reach several meters in width and stretch for hundreds of meters. No wonder they make such a noise. There are a huge number of mosquitoes in the swarm - tens, or even hundreds of thousands.

The swarm only oscillates smoothly, and the individual individuals in it either suddenly fly up or fall down and at the same time emit a sharp ringing sound that is absent during normal flight. This ringing occurs only when the mosquito's wings beat more than 594 times per second.

The ringing is made specifically to attract females, who, during swarming, sit hidden among the vegetation and fly into the swarm only for a few seconds, flying out of there already fertilized. After copulation, female bells lay their eggs in water, encasing them in a gelatinous transparent substance.

These tiny jelly-like formations, with yellow, brown or black oblong eggs visible in them, have different shapes in different types of jerks: a round lump, an oblong sausage with a spiral arrangement of eggs, a long double cord that is attached to the substrate, etc.

Clutches of bells of the genus Chironomus contain from 1 to 2 thousand eggs. The eggs hatch into larvae, which after birth and before the first molt are grayish or colorless, and then acquire a red or greenish color.

Under favorable temperature conditions and an abundance of food, the development and growth of larvae occurs very quickly. Thus, the larvae of the bell bell, or bloodworm (Chironomus plumosus), emerging from spring clutches in shallow and warmed reservoirs, reach a length of 15-16 mm after 15 days.

Like blood-sucking mosquitoes (family Culicidae), chironomid larvae molt 3 times and go through 4 stages. Each age has its own head width. The head of newly molted larvae is disproportionately large.

The length of the soft body of the larva changes as it grows during the stage, depending on the abundance of food. For example, a poorly nourished larva of the 4th instar (4th instar) may be smaller than a well-nourished larva of the 3rd instar. Soon after molting, normal head-body relationships are restored.

When the larva goes through all stages of development and matures, the process of pupation occurs. Mature larvae pupate at the bottom of the reservoir in silt tubes. Their body is saturated with hemoglobin. The presence of a large amount of hemoglobin allows the bell mosquito larvae to survive even if the amount of oxygen is minimal.

To ensure the survivability of the worms, they were sent into space. More than 75% of the insects survived.

After about 4 weeks, the larvae are ready to turn into pupa. The larvae remain in the pupal stage for 48 hours, after which adults hatch. Adults live 5-10 days and do nothing except mate and lay eggs.

In natural and man-made water sources, chironomids are the main inhabitants. The favorite breeding grounds for these insects include any amount of water. Examples include lakes, settling ponds, water oxidation ponds, domestic lakes and ponds, and slow-moving small rivers.

If there are enough nutrients in the water, up to 4000 larvae can be found on one half meter of the bottom. During the summer, it is quite common for thousands of adults to be born for every square meter of water surface at night. Such a number of bell mosquitoes can even lead to economic problems.

The holiday season, which had barely begun in the Krasnodar Territory, was in danger of being disrupted.

Desperate reports are coming from the Krasnodar Territory that the holiday season, which has barely begun, has been rudely interrupted.

Vacationers are leaving the beaches in fear and disgust; billions of mosquitoes have descended on them. Moreover, the situation is so abnormal that Yeysk requested Moscow’s help.

The “green mosquito” attacking the coast is considered atypical. He does not drink human blood, almost does not tolerate infection, lives only three days, but he reproduces in astronomical quantities.

NTV correspondent Sergei Savin went to the front of the fight against the greens

They are everywhere: in the grass, in the air, on fences and even on the facades of buildings. There is currently a mosquito invasion on the Azov coast. They do not pose a threat to human health, but they threaten to disrupt the holiday season.

The total treatment of estuaries and bays did not produce any results: the mosquito explosion caused a boom throughout the food chain, spiders multiplied and now every morning, instead of exercising, the workers of the tourist centers clean off the cobwebs, while the directors calculate the current losses. Because of insects, income has dropped significantly.

Vladimir Sidorenko, general director of the recreation center: “People are already calling from Moscow and asking what kind of beetle or bloodworm we have here? Many people refuse to come to the resort because of this.”

City administration officials are in shock, because Yeysk is fighting for the title of federal resort. The deputy head shows on the map where the Yeisk Spit and the estuary are located. All the tourist centers there are occupied by mosquitoes. Where does it come from so much is a mystery of nature.

Alla Podlipentseva, deputy head of the Yeysk administration: “From an epidemiological point of view, it does not pose any danger, but its large number poses certain inconveniences for vacationers.”

The green bloodworm, or bell mosquito, does not suck blood, does not tolerate malaria and only causes a feeling of discomfort. But this is enough for tourists.

“They buzz all the time, it’s very annoying,” complains Sergei Zhalybin.

When darkness falls, local cafes have their own precautions: they try to cook food with the lights off, and don’t turn on extra lamps. Otherwise, the lamps, like ashtrays, fill up right before our eyes

After ordering, as an additional service, guests are even offered a special spoon to select midges.

Natalya Kelamina, bartender: “It’s impossible to carry or serve anything. We even give visitors a spoon so that they can choose this midge themselves. People understand perfectly well that it is not our fault.”

To save the image of the resort, the authorities called in biological “special forces” of scientists from D.I. Mendeleev Moscow University.

Anatoly Zhalov, Doctor of Biological Sciences: “The ecological situation in the reservoirs around the city has simply changed. Now water is being desalinated, which leads to greater development of organic matter.”

According to forecasts, in two weeks a sharp decline in insect numbers will begin. They promise to defeat the bell with the help of “biological weapons” of natural viruses and strains without harming nature. The authorities are ready to spend any amount of money, even “for” cleaning the estuaries from silt.

However, it is more expensive to exterminate the green bloodworm at its roots; it is too important an element in the natural food chain, starting from birds and ending with fish.

That is why fishermen are the only ones who are not against a repeat mosquito attack. After all, after it, local bulls doubled in size.

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Benefits and harms for people

Many species of the chironomidae family are often confused with mosquitoes because many of them are very similar to the latter. Jerking mosquitoes have a “humpbacked” body that is black, gray or brown. The larvae of these insects are an important part of the food chains in ponds, streams and lakes.

These insects do not bite, but can be very annoying due to the fact that they swarm in large numbers. Bell mosquitoes are most active at night, appearing just after sunset. Swarms of these insects can produce a loud buzzing sound that can be heard over very long distances.

The mosquito does not cause any harm to humans. Since he has an underdeveloped mouthparts, he cannot bite. These insects cause inconvenience if their numbers are huge. When meeting a person, they try to explore him, so they penetrate the ears, nose or eyes.

People who live in the Azov region suffer the most from these pests. This region has huge populations. This is due to the fact that in the Azov region there are many reservoirs and estuaries. Although mosquitoes can cause some harm, they can also be used for good.

Experienced aquarists use chironomid larvae to feed aquarium fish. Worms are rich in nutrients, so they are consumed by reptiles and some types of birds. Bloodworms are also popular among fishermen. But the larvae of jerks are more popular and can even be beneficial.

They are actively used as food for aquarium fish. They are also an important link in the food chain for many birds, fish and small amphibians. On the territory of Berdyansk (Ukraine), residents erected a monument to Chironomidae. This is because the Dergun people take an active part in restoring and saturating the healing mud. It is prohibited to catch or destroy bells.

Difficulties associated with large populations of chironomids are rare. After all, many factors influence the lifespan of insects. If the climate in the region is warm and humid, then the number of bells increases rapidly. Sudden temperature changes cause green mosquitoes to remain in the larval stage for much longer.

But even in these regions, the problem with the number of mosquitoes does not arise every year. The life cycle of insects largely depends on climatic conditions, so not every warm period you can observe large hordes of jerks.

To protect themselves from them, people use regular mosquito repellents. Green insects will not be able to overcome the barrier of mosquito nets and will also lose spatial orientation when exposed to strong odors.

Thus, the twitching mosquito is a completely harmless creature that cannot harm humans. Large populations of this family make it possible to maintain harmony in the natural environment, since many representatives of the animal world feed on mosquitoes.

Dergunov are actively used as food for aquarium fish.

How scientists explain the mosquito invasion in the summer of 2022 in Russia

If in the spring nothing was heard about mosquitoes in Moscow and other regions of the Russian Federation, then in the summer of 2022 whole hordes of these unpleasant insects are literally attacking Russians. Most experts are confident that the cause of such invasions is altered natural conditions. Most often, the development of mosquitoes begins in May, when the snow melts and the ice in water bodies melts. But in 2022 the situation was different.

Vadim Maryinsky, who is a researcher at the Department of General Ecology and Hydrobiology of the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University, shared his opinion:

Recently, information has spread on the Internet that the reason for such a huge invasion of mosquitoes was the observance of self-isolation by many people. People stayed at home and practically did not go out into the fresh air. Now hungry mosquitoes attack people in hordes, trying to make up for lost time and energy. The version is interesting, but with a touch of humor.

Sources

https://dr-dez.ru/klopy/gde-net-komarov-2.html
https://FilterSeparator.ru/muha/gde-net-komarov-2.html
https://apest.ru/komary/o-komarah/gde-net-komarov/
https://MosquitoMagnet.ru/articles/fakty-iz-zhizni-komarov/gde-v-rossii-net-komarov.html
https://klopkan.ru/komary/gde-net-komarov-v-mire/
https://fishki.net/3368221-pravda-li-chto-v-islandii-net-komarov.html
https://ECOportal.info/sushhestvuyut-li-mesta-na-zemle-gde-net-komarov/

Interesting features of mosquitoes

Where do chironomids live? They are found on virtually every continent in the world, even in the cold Arctic and Antarctic regions. Their habitat is limited only by the lack of water or moist soil. Bell mosquitoes gather in large swarms near water, such as streams, lakes and ponds. These insects feel comfortable both outdoors and indoors, although indoors they usually die the next day.

On summer nights, chironomids often swarm around street lamps.
These insects do not bite because they do not have the appropriate oral apparatus to feed on blood.
Some species of bell mosquitoes can lay up to 10,000 eggs at a time.
After hatching, the larva falls to the bottom and feeds on algae and other microorganisms. This makes it difficult to control their numbers, unlike mosquitoes, whose larvae remain on the surface of a pond, lake, etc.
Flying mosquitoes do not transmit diseases, but can cause allergic reactions.
Bell mosquitoes belong to the same order as mosquitoes, but their families are different. Mosquitoes belong to the family Culicidae, and mosquitoes belong to the family Chironomidae.
Sometimes chironomids can land on the walls of houses, to the point that they can completely cover buildings with their bodies.
Roads along lakes and rivers can be infested with bell mosquitoes, sometimes leading to accidents.

Sometimes chironomid swarms can be so dense that from a distance they begin to resemble smoke or clouds.

What interesting facts

On Lake Issyk-Kul and some other places there are mosquitoes that phosphoresce in the dark or twilight, scattering an even, greenish light (like fireflies). At the same time, all parts of the small body glow, even the antennae. The reason for this phenomenon has not yet been clarified.

The bell larvae of the species Polypedilum vanderplanki are the most difficult organisms known to survive desiccation. The larvae of this mosquito were taken outside the ISS and, in dried form, spent more than a year in outer space. After this, it turned out that about 80% of the larvae survived.

An interesting fact is the installation of a monument to the bell mosquito. The insect received this honor in the city of Berdyansk.

Bell bell larvae have adapted not only to various changes in water parameters: the amount of oxygen and salts, pH and flow speed. It turned out that chironomids can survive at great depths in Lake Baikal. They were found at a distance of 1600 m from the surface of the lake. In the Atlantic Ocean, they were found at a depth of 30 m, and one of the representatives of green mosquitoes was discovered in a cave that ended 980 m below sea level.

Methods of protection against mosquitoes

To protect yourself from insect pests, you can use various devices and means. And they are particularly effective:

Mosquito nets. They are equipped with door and window openings. This is the most suitable method for people living near water bodies and swampy bogs. If the diameter of the cells is chosen correctly, then the jerk is unable to penetrate through an artificially created barrier.
A simpler option for protecting your home from insects is a piece of gauze attached to wooden window frames in any convenient way.
Essential oils and plant extracts. Since bells do not tolerate expressive odors well, lavender or citrus extracts can be used for protection. They should be applied to exposed parts of the body.
Aerosol products. Aerosols designed to protect against pests are also suitable for prevention. They contain substances that repel or kill mosquitoes.
Anti-mosquito devices. In order to prevent a chironomidae from attacking a child, you can use special bracelets or buttons. They are presented in a huge assortment, so choosing the appropriate product is very easy.

Hats and mosquito nets will protect you from insects

Chemical mosquito repellents, although effective, can be hazardous to health, especially for children. It is noteworthy that mosquitoes have an excellent sense of smell - insects can distinguish a living object from a distance of one and a half meters.

Chemical means of protection include spirals, electric fumigators and smoke bombs. Special aerosols, creams and sprays also repel green mosquitoes. The substances contained in chemical protection products interrupt the human odor, so insects no longer perceive people.

Cost of devices

There is a wide range of products from domestic and foreign manufacturers on sale. You can buy a device with a sound in specialized stores, supermarkets, or you can order it online. The cost depends on the brand, device power, range.

ZF810A. Based on ultrasound, works from the network. A small box constantly generates a sound of a certain frequency. Range 20 sq. m. Cost 400 rub.
Typhoon LS-200. Externally, the mosquito repeller resembles a radio. Powered by electricity. Generates ultrasound with a frequency of 4-18 kHz. Has several operating modes. Used indoors. The range, depending on the selected mode, is 15-40 square meters. m. It is often used to repel bloodsuckers on the terrace, veranda, and balcony. Price about 2000 rubles.
Ultrasonic. Portable mosquito repeller based on ultrasound in the form of a keychain. Valid within a radius of 8 square meters. m. Cost about 400 rubles.

A variety of ultrasonic repellers

The operating principle is identical. The difference is in the range. Mosquitoes are afraid of ultrasound starting from 4 kHz, deadly sound within 18 kHz.

Habitat

Chironomid larvae have mastered deep and shallow, temporary and permanent, freshwater and hyperhaline reservoirs, rich and poor in oxygen, cold and warm waters, as well as peripheral parts of the ocean (Clunio marinus) and some terrestrial habitats with high humidity. They have also successfully adapted to wide gradients in temperature, pH, salinity, oxygen content, flow speed and pollution. In many aquatic ecosystems, up to 50% of macroinvertebrate species are chironomids.

Literature[ | code]

E. P. Narchuk.
Mosquitoes of the family Chironomidae are the most adapted dipteran insects (Diptera) to the aquatic environment // Eurasian Entom. magazine. - 2004. - T. 3, No. 4. - P. 259-264.
E. A. Makarchenko, M. A. Makarchenko, O. V. Zorina, I. V. Sergeeva.
First results of the study of the fauna and taxonomy of chironomids (Diptera, Chironomidae) of the Russian Far East // Readings in memory of V. Ya. Levanidov. - Vladivostok: Dalnauka, 2005. - P. 394-420. — 668 p. — ISBN 5-8044-0617-5.
L. C. Ferrington Jr.
Global diversity of non-biting midges (Chironomidae; Insecta-Diptera) in freshwater // Hydrobiologia: journal. - 2008. - No. 595. - P. 447-455.

Notes

↑ Animal life. Volume 3. Arthropods: trilobites, chelicerates, trachea-breathers. Onychophora / ed. M. S. Gilyarova, F. N. Pravdina, ch. ed. V. E. Sokolov. — 2nd ed. - M.: Education, 1984. - P. 396. - 463 p.
Shilova A.I.
Chironomids of the Rybinsk Reservoir / Executive editor A.A. Strelkov. - L.: Nauka, 1976. - 251 p.
Linevich A. A.
Chironomids of Baikal and the Baikal region / Executive editor Yu. V. Bekman. - Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1981. - 153 p.
↑ .
↑ .
Zinchenko T. D. Ecological and faunal characteristics of chironomids (Diptera, Chironomidae) of small rivers of the Middle and Lower Volga basin: atlas / T. D. Zinchenko - Tolyatti: Kassandra, 2011. - 258 p.
A. D. Broshkov, I. I. Kiknadze, A. G. Istomina, L. I. Istomina.
Structure of the karyotype of chironomids Chironomus uliginosus Keyl, 1960 (Díptera, Chironomidae) // Eurasian Entomol. magazine. - 2008. - T. 7, No. 1. - P. 57-65.
LCV Pinder.
Biology of freshwater Chironomidae (English) // Ann. Rev. Entomol.. - 1986. - No. 31. - P. 1-23.
Richard Cornette, Takahiro Kikawada.
The induction of anhydrobiosis in the sleeping chironomid: current status of our knowledge (English) // IUBMB life: journal. - 2011. - No. 63. - P. 419-429.
. Roscosmos (December 15, 2008). Retrieved March 18, 2020.
D. M. Bezmaternykh.
On the taxonomy, ecology and distribution of chironomids of the genus Chironomus of the obtusidens group (Diptera, Chironomidae) // World of science, culture, education. - 2007. - No. 4 (7). - pp. 30-34.
↑ .

Know by your mustache what to call Vanka

Fast forward to 1878. There is a man standing on a hillock near the river, with reporters gathered around him. The man lifts up a forked steel fork and hits it - once, twice, three times. There is a shaking sound. This is a tuning fork. The man continues to make monotonous sounds. And... Oh, miracle! Bell-bellied mosquitoes begin to gather above his head, and every moment there are more and more of them. And now this is a small black cloud. Reporters are delighted! Bravo, Lord of the Flies!

The man with the tuning fork was Hiram Stevens Maxim. The same one that, 5 years later, will create the most famous machine gun. A deadly machine. It’s a pity that Hiram Maxim will be remembered in human memory only as the inventor of the machine gun

But he contributed to the development of entomology by making an important biological discovery.

When the inventor was installing electric lights in New York, he noticed that a humming transformer attracted mosquitoes. They curl and dance around him. Hiram picked up a tuning fork, similar in sound to a transformer, and began to attract mosquitoes with the sound

Maxim also found out that the tuning fork attracts mosquitoes with antennae, but insects without antennae do not react to it.

The inventor put forward an amazing hypothesis - mosquitoes' ears are on their whiskers! He wrote about it in the newspaper. Contemporaries laughed at him at first, but then scientists not only confirmed this guess, but also found olfactory cilia on the antennae. These are the antennae mosquitoes have! They are ears, they are nose!

Also, bell mosquitoes exhibit sexual dimorphism in their antennae. Sexual dimorphism is the external differences between a female and a male. For example, striking dimorphism in chicken and rooster. And among twitchers, males have hussar mustaches, while in females they are much more modest, not so fluffy. Without antennae, the genus of ringing mosquitoes would be interrupted.

But let's return to our extraordinary phenomenon. To be fair, it is worth noting that such swarms are formed not only by bells, but also by other mosquitoes, for example, coretras. And there were some oddities in history. One day the fire brigade arrived at a plume of smoke above the church. The alarm turned out to be false: it was mosquitoes.

I wish you interesting observations of spring! And I invite you to join our spring marathon “SPRING IS COMING.” This is an immersion into the wonderful world of research, creativity and play! You still have time to participate in the first stage of the adventure.

Hiram picked up a tuning fork, similar in sound to a transformer, and began to attract mosquitoes with the sound. Maxim also found out that the tuning fork attracts mosquitoes with antennae, but insects without antennae do not react to it.