Chironomus striatipennis

I saw this insect sitting on a banana leaf in my own orchard on May 19, 2026.

​Name and Identification:
​After taking the picture, I searched i-Naturalist and Google to find out its scientific name is Chironomus striatipennis. It is actually an insect of the 'Chironomidae' family, which are commonly called non-biting midges. If you look at the picture, you will see that its body color is light greenish-yellow and its front legs are quite long. Its back is slightly hunched. Although it looks exactly like a mosquito, it is actually not a mosquito.

​Size:
​They are very small. They are usually 2 to 10 millimeters (mm) long. Due to their small size and slim body like a mosquito, it is quite challenging to take a perfect picture of them sitting on the leaf.
​Habitat and Habitat:
​They usually live in damp areas around rivers, canals, ponds or any freshwater body of water. Sometimes they come to rest on the leaves of garden plants, as I found on my banana leaves. They are abundant in our Bangladesh and the Indian subcontinent.

​Food and Hunting:
​Their diet is quite interesting. Adult midges usually do not eat anything or hunt. Since their lifespan is only a few days, they live only for reproduction. However, their larvae survive by eating decaying organic waste and algae underwater.

​Reproduction:
​Their entire reproduction process is centered on water bodies. Female insects lay eggs on the water or in damp areas nearby. After the eggs hatch and the larvae emerge, they grow underwater and later emerge as full-fledged insects with wings.

​Benefits:
​They play a huge role in maintaining the food chain and ecosystem of nature. These insects are the favorite and main food of fish, frogs, lizards, small birds and spiders in water bodies. They naturally maintain the balance of the environment.

​Harmfulness:
​Although they look exactly like mosquitoes, they are completely harmless. They do not cause any harm to humans or domestic animals. They do not bite people, do not suck blood or spread any disease. Besides, they do not harm the farmers' crops. So it can be said that they are not harmful.

I learned about them from various sites including iNaturalist, Wikipedia and Google.

(All posts are written in Bengali and translated into English using Google Translate.)
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Camera Used	Samsung SM-G973F
F-Stop	F2.4
ISO speed	ISO
Focal length	26mm
Flash	No
Editing app	MIX
Photography	(Chironomus striatipennis)
Photographer	@mshbd
Location	Purulia, Natore, Bangladesh