chironomic (kironomik)

[ Chironomidæ (ki-rō-nom'i-dē), n. pl. [NL., nom us. They resemble gnats, and the group is sometimes called Culiciformes. The larvæ live in water, moist earth, and rotten wood, and have four tracheal vesicles and a circlet of anal setæ. There are many genera and about 800 species. They have no ocelli; the antennæ are plumose, especially in the males; there is no transverse thoracic suture; and the vein ends near the tip of the wing. They greatly resemble mosquitoes, but as a rule do not bite. They may be observed in early spring in swarms often of immense extent.