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48. Diptera Chaoboridae

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642 Freshwater Invertebrates of the Malaysian Region

Insecta: Diptera, Chaoboridae

Art Borkent
691-8th Ave. SE, Salmon Arm, British Columbia, V1E 2C2, Canada
(Email: aborkent@jetstream.net)

INTRODUCTION
The Chaoboridae are commonly known as phantom midges or lake flies, in reference
to the nearly transparent, planktonic larvae of the genus Chaoborus (Fig. 1C) and the
amazing number of adults which some lakes produce. They are the sister group of
the mosquitoes and share many features with them. Although only 50 species of
Chaoboridae are known (of which 42 are in the genus Chaoborus), the family is very
ancient, with fossils known from the Jurassic period 160 million years ago. They
have clearly been an important component of the aquatic community for a very long
time.
Of the six genera known worldwide, only Chaoborus occurs in Southeast Asia.
Each stage is quite distinctive and easy to identify as members of the genus. The
larva is nearly transparent in life (Fig. 1C) (white in alcohol), has a laterally
compressed head capsule, and has two prominent air sacs in each of the thorax and
abdominal segment 7. The pupa (Fig. 1B) has two well-developed terminal paddles
(as in Culicidae) and the abdomen hangs from a semi-vertical to a nearly completely
vertical position (unlike the tightly curled abdomen of the Culicidae); in addition, the
respiratory organs are tapered at the apex and lack a plastron. The adult shares the
wing venation of the Culicidae (Fig. 1D) but has short mouthparts and is non-biting
(Fig. 1A).
The family is fully cataloged by Borkent (1993), who also provides pertinent
references to keys, descriptions of all known life stages, ecological studies and bionomic
information. Colless (1986) gives an analysis of the Australia fauna (which includes
two other genera).

GENERAL BIOLOGY AND LIFE CYCLE

The genus Chaoborus, as the only generic representative of the family in Malaysia,
is poorly known in this region. Elsewhere the larvae are an important component of
the lentic community and are often very abundant in standing water, from small
pools to the largest of lakes. Because they are planktonic, they are restricted to
standing waters although they may sometimes be found in rivers or streams when
floodwaters inundate nearby ponds or lakes or when large reservoirs release water
quickly.
Insecta: Diptera, Chaoboridae 643

The larvae are predaceous and hang vertically in the water column, waiting for
passing prey that they detect with sensory setae and lash sideways at to capture as
food. They are known to influence the size, distribution and species composition of
zooplanktonic Crustacea. In smaller water bodies the larvae also feed on small
insects such as chironomid larvae.

Figure 1. A – male adult Chaoborus astictopusa; B – pupa C. trivittatus; C – fourth instar larva C.
trivittatus; D – wing of C. americanus; E – paramere of C. flavidulus; F–G paramere of C. annandalei
from two different perspectives. (Sources: A, Herms 1937; B–C, Borkent 1979; D, Cook 1981; E–G,
Edwards 1930)
644 Freshwater Invertebrates of the Malaysian Region

The larvae have the remarkable capability of controlling the gas in their air sacs
and species that live in larger water bodies have a diurnal rhythm in which they
slowly rise up in the water column during early night (and hence may be found near
the surface at that time) and sink to large depths during daylight hours. Therefore,
collecting during the night with a plankton net near the surface is a good sampling
method for this group.
Immatures often occur in huge numbers in lakes and ponds and such numbers
can produce tremendous numbers of emerging adults, which are attracted to nearby
lights (and light traps). In East Africa, they are so abundant that the natives
traditionally gathered up the adults and pressed these into cakes, which they later ate.
Species of Chaoboridae have the following life stages: egg, four larval instars,
pupa and adult. In temperate regions, Chaoborus species generally overwinter as
mature larvae, and are therefore restricted to permanent waters (there are one or
possibly two exceptions to this where eggs overwinter and the species occupy
temporary ponds). Nothing is known about the life cycle of the species in Southeast
Asia and there is a great potential for further research of this interesting group.
The immatures are easy to rear in small bottles. Larvae readily eat small
crustaceans such as Daphnia or the larvae of chironomids or mosquitoes and only
require that the water remains aerated.

REGIONAL TAXA
There are four known species that may occur in Malaysia. These are poorly
understood and there is a great need to describe all the stages (which are known for
many other species of Chaoborus) and to interpret their biology.

KEY TO SPECIES: ADULTS

1. Wings uniformly pigmented ..................................................................................................... 2
- Wings with at least some veins more darkly pigmented ........................................................... 3
2. Paramere with apical portion of uniform diameter, with a blunt apex (Fig. 1E).......C. flavidulus
(from Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur, Kuching – and Thailand)
- Paramere with apical portion swollen and flattened apically, with a point on one side apically
(Fig. 1F–G) ....................................................................................................... C. annandalei
(from southern Myanmar)
3. Legs uniformly pigmented ........................................................................................ C. indicus
(from India, Indonesia)
- Legs with femora and tibiae with 7–10 dark rings ..................................... C. queenslandensis
(from Malaysia, south to New South Wales, Australia)

REFERENCES
Borkent A. (1979) Systematics and bionomics of the species of the subgenus Schadonophasma Dyar
and Shannon (Chaoborus, Chaoboridae, Diptera). Quaestiones Entomologicae 15:122-255.
Borkent A. (1993) A world catalogue of fossil and extant Corethrellidae and Chaoboridae (Diptera),
with a listing of references to keys, bionomic information and descriptions of each known life
Insecta: Diptera, Chaoboridae 645

stage. Entomologica Scandinavica 24:1–24.

Colless D.H. (1986) The Australian Chaoboridae (Diptera). Australian Journal of Zoology Supple-
mentary Series 124:1–66.
Cook E.F. (1981) Chaoboridae. Pp 335–339, Chapter 24 In Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Volume 1.
Agriculture Canada Monograph 27: 1–674.
Edwards F.W. (1930) Notes on exotic Chaoborinae, with descriptions of new species (Diptera, Culicidae).
Annals and Magazine of Natural History 10(6): 528–40.
Herms W.B. (1937) The Clear Lake Gnat. University of California, College of Agriculture,
Agricultural Experiment Station, Berkeley, California Bulletin 607: 1–22.

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