Editing Midge (section)

== Examples ==

The [[Ceratopogonidae]] (biting midges) include serious blood-sucking pests, feeding both on humans and other mammals. Some of them spread the livestock diseases known as [[Bluetongue disease|blue tongue]] and [[African horse sickness]] &ndash; other species though, are at least partly nectar feeders, and some even suck insect bodily fluids.<ref name="isbn1-86872-713-0">{{cite book |last1=Weaving |first1=Alan |last2=Picker |first2=Mike |last3=Griffiths |first3=Charles Llewellyn |year=2003 |title=Field Guide to Insects of South Africa |publisher=New Holland Publishers, Ltd |isbn=1-86872-713-0}}</ref>

Many midges are known for having symbiotic relationships with many other organisms. These can be commensal, parasitic or mutualistic relationships. Many of the commensal relationships are found within the family [[Chironomidae]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=TOKESHI |first=MUTSUNORI |date=June 1993 |title=On the evolution of commensalism in the Chironomidae |journal=Freshwater Biology |volume=29 |issue=3 |pages=481–489 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2427.1993.tb00782.x |issn=0046-5070|doi-access=free |bibcode=1993FrBio..29..481T }}</ref>
[[File: Ceratopogonidae midge sucking Sphodromantis blood IMG 3045ss.JPG|thumb|A midge of the family Ceratopogonidae (lower middle - a branch is its background) sitting on a [[mantis]] sucking its [[hemolymph]] whilst the mantis feeds on a bee]]

Other ceratopogonid midges are major pollinators of ''[[Theobroma cacao]]'' (cocoa tree). Having natural pollinators has beneficial effects in both agricultural and biological products because it increases crop yield and also density of predators of the midges (still beneficial to all parties).<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Forbes |first1=Samantha J. |last2=Northfield |first2=Tobin D. |date=2016-12-26 |title=Increased pollinator habitat enhances cacao fruit set and predator conservation |journal=Ecological Applications |volume=27 |issue=3 |pages=887–899 |issn=1051-0761 |publisher=Ecological Society of America |doi=10.1002/eap.1491 |pmid=28019052}}</ref>
 
The term "midge" is a vague term that refers to a large and diverse group of organisms. Although many are known as "bloodsuckers," there are many different roles that they play in their respective ecosystems.<ref name=":0" /> There is, for example, no objective basis for excluding the [[Psychodidae]] from the list, and some of them (or midge-like taxa commonly included in the family, such as ''[[Phlebotomus]]'') are blood-sucking pests and disease vectors.

Most midges, apart from the gall midges ([[Cecidomyiidae]]), are aquatic during the larval stage. Some Cecidomyiidae (e.g., the [[Hessian fly]]) are considered significant pests of some plant species. The larvae of some Chironomidae contain [[hemoglobin]] and are sometimes referred to as [[Chironomidae#Behavior and description|bloodworms]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Walker |first=Ian R. |editor1-last=Smol |editor1-first=J. P. |editor2-last=Birks |editor2-first=H. J. B. |editor3-last=Last |editor3-first=W. M. |year=2001 |chapter=Midges: Chironomidae and related Diptera |pages=43–66 |title=Tracking Environmental Change Using Lake Sediments |volume=4: Zoological Indicators |series= Developments in Paleoenvironmental Research |publisher=Kluwer Academic Publishers |location=Dordrecht, The Netherlands |doi=10.1007/0-306-47671-1_3 |isbn=978-0-306-47671-6}}</ref>

Non-biting midge flies are commonly considered a minor nuisance around bodies of water.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Apperson |first1=Charles |author-link1=Charles S. Apperson |last2=Waldvogel |first2=Michael |last3=Bambara |first3=Stephen |year=2006 |title=Biology and Control of Non-biting Aquatic Midges |number=Insect Note ENT/rsc–15 |publisher=Department of Entomology, North Carolina Cooperative Extension |url=http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/ent/notes/Urban/midges.htm}}</ref> In May 2025, a large emergence of midges caused [https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2025/05/7234edc18b6f-swarming-insects-causing-distress-at-world-exposition-in-osaka.html mayhem at the World Exposition] in Osaka, Japan.