Chironomids – The Most significant Stillwater Insect Hatch to Master
When it comes to talking about the most prolific and prolonged aquatic insect emergence found in freshwater it is the midge or chironomid that wins hands down. With an estimated 2500 species of chironomids found living in lakes and rivers throughout North America, they reign supreme in productive stillwaters.
Let’ s Look at the Life Cycle
Chironomids are members of the Dipteran (two-winged) order of insects. To the uninitiated, the adult chironomid looks like a mosquito but thankfully the adult female chironomid has no feeding mouthparts. Chironomids undergo a complete life cycle comprised of larval, pupal, and adult stages. Trout and other fish species feed on all their life stages but in lakes, the most intense feeding occurs during the pupal stage.
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