Mosquitoes have slender bodies and narrow, transparent wings. Other insects, especially crane flies and non-biting midges, have a similar body plan. Neither crane flies nor non-biting midges bite, nor do they transmit disease.
1. Size. Mosquitoes and midges are both small insects. Mosquitoes range from about 3 to 15 mm (0.1 to 0.6 inches) in length. Any insect you see in Virginia that is larger than that is a crane fly. Biting midges ("no-see-ums") are smaller than mosquitoes, about 0.5 to less than 3 mm long (0.02 to less than 0.1 inches). Also, many biting midges do not look much like mosquitoes.
1. Size. Mosquitoes and midges are both small insects. Mosquitoes range from about 3 to 15 mm (0.1 to 0.6 inches) in length. Any insect you see in Virginia that is larger than that is a crane fly. Biting midges ("no-see-ums") are smaller than mosquitoes, about 0.5 to less than 3 mm long (0.02 to less than 0.1 inches). Also, many biting midges do not look much like mosquitoes.
2. The mouth. Mosquitoes have long mouthparts (1). Females use these to bite us, while males use them to collect nectar from flowers. Midges and most crane flies do not have mouths that look like this (2, 3).
3. The wings. A mosquito's wings are longer than the body; the wings of a midge are shorter than the body. Also, the edges of the wings of a mosquito have a fringed or hairy appearance that is absent from the wings of midges and crane flies (4).
Copyright Tom Murray, 2007. Used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0 Generic License.
4. Posture. When a mosquito lands on something (say, your arm), it's body is held at an angle to the surface. The thorax (the middle section to which the wings and legs attach) is held high and the head points down, giving the body an overall curved look. In contrast, the body of midges and crane flies are held parallel to the surface, often flat against the surface. If they were emoticons...
Mosquito ^
Midge __
Mosquito ^
Midge __
Mosquito vs. midge. A. The pictured mosquito has wings slightly longer than the body, long mouthparts, and typical raised angle posture. B The pictured midge has wings shorter than the body (click image to see whole specimen), short mouthparts, and typical low, straight posture. Both images copyright Jim Moore, 2006 (A), 2008 (B). Images used under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs-NonCommercial 1.0 Generic License.
Notes
1. The long mouthparts of a mosquito are usually prominent enough to be visible without magnification.
2. The few crane flies that do have long mouthparts have a body much larger than that of any mosquito.
3. Even biting midges lack the long mouthparts found in mosquitoes.
4. You'll need a magnifying glass or microscope to see the fringe on a mosquito's wings.
1. The long mouthparts of a mosquito are usually prominent enough to be visible without magnification.
2. The few crane flies that do have long mouthparts have a body much larger than that of any mosquito.
3. Even biting midges lack the long mouthparts found in mosquitoes.
4. You'll need a magnifying glass or microscope to see the fringe on a mosquito's wings.