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Midge

Photo by AprilPerry
Published on Project Noah
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40.6541, -73.5286

Field Notes

Description:

Can't tell if this is of a midge or mosquito? I got as close of a picture as I could. Looks like the insect has an orange head and a slender black body.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (5)

I agree the one on Bug-guide looks close. You could wait for some of our experts to come on or you could post to Bug-guide and ask for their help also. By the way, getting close is not always good as it reduces the depth of field, unless you have a very expensive macro set-up. I often use the same set-up that I use for birds, a 600mm (35mm equiv) or 12X zoom from 6 feet away - less chance of disturbing the subject and slightly better depth of field. I find using a smaller camera close-up the quality ls lower. I also save in RAW mode. The quality of yours is good but the depth of field is quite small, hence some parts are out of focus. A higher F# is also helpful. For most of my moths I use a 280mm (35mm equiv) at F22 with flash open and take several shots as there are always a few failures, and between them all parts will hopefully be in focus in some of the pictures.
I'm certainly no expert on these but take a look at this image, especially the thorax. http://bugguide.net/node/view/523041
Thank you Scott. Any idea on what kind of midge it may be?
Looks like a midge...there doesn't seem to be a proboscis sticking out from the head.
Definitely not a mosquito. The difference is the Mosquitoes wings and hind legs are longer than the body, those of the Midge are shorter than the body, as this one. That does not mean it is a midge though as there are many other insect types that it might be.

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Photographed
PublishedMay 24, 2014

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