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Bloodworms

Chironomid spp.

Description:

Saw on the terrace of my house today. I guess they are about 0,5-1 cm individually. They move as one. Edit: video added.

1 Species ID Suggestions

Bloodworms
Chironomid spp. Chironomidae


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7 Comments

Diaz José Miguel
Diaz José Miguel 10 years ago

Interesting, i found a group of those in a park near my house in san josé, costa rica. Now i know what they are!

remco.douma
remco.douma 10 years ago

Interesting and sounds logical! I've added your suggestion as the name. Thanks a lot Mark!

Mark Ridgway
Mark Ridgway 10 years ago

There's many species looking slightly different. It might be difficult to find which one yours is. That's why I suggested a family level ID only. You could research which species are in your area and you might get lucky. :-) The ones I found were in a totally dry bird bath. I suspect the larvae gather together when a place goes dry in an attempt to keep moisture around them.

remco.douma
remco.douma 10 years ago

Additionally, Wikipedia says "Larval stages of Chironomidae can be found in almost any aquatic or semiaquatic habitat (...)". These were just on a dry floor. That seems rather odd?

remco.douma
remco.douma 10 years ago

Added the video!

Mark, thanks for the suggestion! They do look similar. However, it seems like these have a black head, while the images I find of bloodworm larvae don't seem to have that. Or would that just be some local variation?

Mark Ridgway
Mark Ridgway 10 years ago

'bloodworms' (sorry)

Mark Ridgway
Mark Ridgway 10 years ago

heh heh... search 'blodworms' it's a good read

remco.douma
Spotted by
remco.douma

Punta Del Este, Maldonado, Uruguay

Spotted on Dec 15, 2013
Submitted on Dec 15, 2013

Spotted for Mission

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