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Guide to New Zealand's freshwater invertebrates
Chironomid midge
(
Chironomidae
: Corynoneura
)
Diagnostic features
Corynoneura is a small, easily overlooked midge, belonging to the orthoclad subfamily of the Chironomidae. Like other chironomids the general body form is worm-like, but with a distinct head, and with paired prolegs under the head and at the end of the abdomen. The antennae of Corynoneura are unusually long for chironomids, being about twice the length of the head.
Typical habitats
Corynoneura larvae are found in only a small percentage of stream samples, but they can be common in algae-covered stream sites.
Feeding
They are known to feed on a range of streambed algae and organic detritus.
Indicator value
Corynoneura can be found in streams with heavy growths of streambed algae (often the result of excessive nutrient enrichment). They have low tolerance values of 2 (hard bottom sites) and 1.7 (soft bottom sites).
