Method for culturing the phantom midge, Chaoborus (Diptera: Chaoboridae), in the laboratory

Chaoborus punctipennis (Say) was cultured in a cage positioned over an aquarium containing lake water, sediments, and artificial plants. During a 40-day period, 61 fertilized egg rafts were laid yielding approximately 21 130 first instars. Egg rafts averaged 380 eggs (n = 23) with 91.2% hatching success. First and second instars were fed rotifers and/or protozoans, third instars were fed a mixture of rotifer and crustacean zooplankton, and fourth instars received only the latter. At 19°C and with excess food, the shortest development time from egg to pupal stage was 15 days. First and second instars required food before molting to the next stadia. Median starvation times for the first and second instars at 12°C was 6.1 and 7.4 days, respectively. This is the first successful culturing method for a lake-dwelling Chaoborus species and modifications of this method should be successful for culturing other Chaoborus species.