order
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Coleoptera
“Adult Beetles”
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Coleoptera
“Larval Beetles”
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Diptera
“True Flies”
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Ephemeroptera
“Mayflies”
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Hemiptera
“True Bugs”
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Lepidoptera
“Aquatic Caterpillars, Snout Moths”
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Megaloptera
“Alderflies, Dobsonflies, and Fishflies”
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Odonata
“Dragonflies and Damselflies”
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Plecoptera
“Stoneflies”
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Trichoptera
“Caddisflies”
family
Dixidae
genus
Dixa
“Meniscus Midges”
Genus Overview
The genus is commonly found in shallow slow moving water with aquatic plants or shallow ponds or bogs. They breathe air with the spiracles on their abdomen. They have a diet of microorganisms and algae. There are about 45 species in North America.
Characteristics
POLLUTION TOLERANCE
Southeast: 2.8 and higher
0 = least tolerant, 10 = most tolerant
FEEDING HABITS
Collector / Filterer
Collector / Gatherer
Collector / Gatherer
MOVEMENT
Climber
Swimmer
Swimmer
DISTRIBUTION
Widespread (east of the Rocky Mtns.)
HABITAT
Lotic-depositional
Lotic-erosional
Lotic-erosional
Diagnostic Characters
Order
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Legs Absent
Family
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Distinct Thoracic Segments
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Flat Lobes Fringed with Hair on Last Segment
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Head Capsule Complete and Exposed
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Hook-bearing Prolegs on 1-2
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Mandibles Moving Horizontally
Genus
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Rosettes Of Hair
+ Expanded Character List
Order:
Wings and wing pads absent. Eye spots sometimes visible, but compound eyes absent. Segmented legs absent, but sometimes fleshy prolegs present. Sometimes with distinct head, often without head or with head drawn deeply into thorax. Body flattened, cylindrical, or maggot-like.
Family:
The head is distinct and fully exposed; the 1st and 2nd abdominal segments each have a pair of fleshy prolegs with tiny apical hooks; the end of the abdomen has two flattened lobes with hairy margins above a small, dorsally sclerotized anal segment with fleshy papillae.
Genus:
Prolegs on abdominal segments 1 and 2, body length 3-25 mm, head is separate from thorax, abdomen segments 2-7 with rosettes of hairs
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Lateral