Female Chironomidae (Midges) Midge AdultView 5 PicturesThis midge and several like it, including a male I also photographed, hatched from larvae which were living in some fine mud I'm using as substrate in my bug-rearing aquarium. This one flew away before I could photograph it on the ruler, but it would have measured slightly smaller than the male.
Rheotanytarsus Midge LarvaView 6 PicturesThis peculiar midge lived in a case tightly fixed to a rock, with several others of its kind. The case seems to be made of tiny grains of sand. I'm not sure what the function is for the little lines sticking out the front, because they aren't legs.
Hexatoma True Fly LarvaView 6 PicturesI'm not sure if this cranefly larva is in the genus Hexatoma or Limnophila, but the habitat suggests Hexatoma. Its coloring is iridescent, and I've never heard of that before. However, there is an insect virus genus Iridovirus which can infect craneflies and causes iridescence. It has not been reported in this region as far as I can tell, but perhaps it is the culprit. It makes for beautiful pictures.