Long-term (1980-94) population trends of pestiferous Chironomidae (Diptera) along a lakefront in central Florida

Populations of adult chironomids occurring along 5-6 km of waterfront in the city of Sanford facing Lake Monroe, central Florida, were monitored from January 1980 to December 1994 using New Jersey light traps. The annual mean number of total midges per trap per day ranged from 269 (1994) to 8,009 (1980). Among the more than 20 species of midges occurring in the traps, Glyptotendipes paripes was the most abundant, followed by Chironomus crassicaudatus. These 2 species comprised 95.6% of total midges collected. Annual cycles of midge abundance were positively correlated with air temperature. Maxima of most species occurred in late spring/early summer; G. paripes peaked in late summer. Year-to-year midge population levels showed significant inverse correlations with Lake Monroe water depth and annual rainfall in the Sanford area.