Goodbye to no bites in New York: midges are back on the shores of major lakes, but don’t kill them, they’re critical
Here’s why you should keep your mosquito friends close by.
Beware! Ontario is currently going through its annual terror time: the midge emergence, a natural phenomenon where swarms of tiny, non-biting insects—known as midges, chironomids, or lake flies—blanket lakeshores, trees, and buildings. These insects, though often perceived as nuisances, play a crucial role in the ecosystem.
Midges spend the majority of their life cycle underwater as larvae, feeding on organic matter and aiding in sediment cleanup. As water temperatures rise in spring, they transition into pupae and eventually emerge as adults.
The primary purpose of adult midges is reproduction: males form large swarms to attract females, who then lay eggs back into the water, continuing the cycle.
‘They don’t live for very long. Be patient. They will go’
“What you’ll see are these huge swarms or clouds of males, mostly,” explains Antonia Guidotti, Entomology Technician with the Royal Ontario Museum, to The Weather Network. “And then the females will come along. They’ll go into the big cloud, and they’ll pick a mate. The female will lay a whole bunch of eggs back in the water. The eggs will fall down, and the larvae will hatch at some point. And you’ll get all kinds of larvae in the water, which are really important for our ecosystem.”
“When they begin life as larvae, the midges feed on organic matter up the bottom of the lake or the river, and by doing that, they are cleaning up the sediment,” she says. “Fish feed on them. Frogs feed on them. Ducks and aquatic birds will feed on them as their larvae, once they emerge back out of the water again. They’re also food for lots of different birds.”
Importantly, midges do not bite humans, and their swarms are temporary, typically lasting only a week or two. “The emergence is temporary,” Guidotti reassures. “They don’t live for very long. They’ll be here for a few days, at the most, a week or two. Be patient. They will go. You will have your midge-free air back”, Guidotti concludes.
While the swarms can be dense and may cover surfaces near lakeshores, experts advise patience, as the midges will dissipate naturally. Their emergence is a sign of a healthy ecosystem and contributes significantly to the biodiversity of the region.
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