June 14, 2019 | From City of New Orleans
City's Mosquito and Termite Control Board Notifies Residents of Non-biting Midges in East New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS-- The New Orleans Mosquito, Termite and Rodent Control received an unusual amount of phone calls from constituents on Friday, June 14, 2019, regarding large numbers of mosquitoes or termite swarmers that were clinging to the walls of houses, apartments, vehicles and vegetation in New Orleans East.
An inspection of the sites where the calls were coming from, namely around the Hayne Boulevard area in New Orleans East, revealed that the swarming insects were in fact non-biting midges, family Chironomidae, a fly that superficially resembles mosquitoes. Non-biting midges breed in water just like mosquitoes, but prefer polluted waters that are high in organic material. The larvae grow in the bottom of bodies of water, which may be lakes, ponds, streams, canals or even containers, and are usually red in color and are called bloodworms. Their blood contains haemoglobin and contains iron which gives them the red color, and allows them to survive in oxygen deficient water where other insects and other organisms have a hard time thriving. The larvae filter the organic debris out of the water.
The larval development may take several weeks depending on temperature, after which they turn to pupae and emerge as adults on the surface of the water. The adults mate in swarms soon after emerging from the pupae, after which they lay eggs on the water. Because the adults do not feed, they die after only 3 to 5 days.
Midges emerging from these bodies of water can be a cause for concern for the citizens because they are readily confused for mosquitoes. Fortunately there is absolutely no need to control them as they are not a health risk and the problem will resolve itself after a few days or weeks once the swarms die off.
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