Welcome
to the Chironomidae and Water Beetles of Florida Web Site!
24 YEARS ON THE WEB !
The midge adult above is Dicrotendipes thanatogratus,
named by me
in 1987 for the
Grateful Dead!!!
Here you'll find current information on the
taxonomy and
distribution of these wonderful groups of insects in Florida
and elsewhere.
Information includes (click on your choice):
NEW! Workshop manual from my
2017 FAB
Chironomidae workshop. Basically
updates
everything since 2001 manual; includes new figures and
info. Click here.
Additions and Corrections to my 2014
"Identification
Guide to the Larvae of the Tribe Tanytarsini
(Diptera: Chironomidae) in Florida" (last update 1 February 2019)
Corrections and additions
for the new
"Holarctic Keys" (last update 4 August 2014)
Additions and corrections to my
2010 "Water
Beetles of Florida" (last update 28
December 2020)
Additions and corrections for my 2001
"Identification Manual for the Larval Chironomidae (Diptera)
of North and
South Carolina" (last update 21 September
2015)
Additions and corrections for my 2006
aquatic
Heteroptera manual (last update 8 December 2020)
Checklist of the Chironomidae of
Florida (last
update:1
July 2021)
Checklist of the water beetles of Florida
(last
update: 4 October 2021)
Checklist of the aquatic/semi-aquatic
Heteroptera of
Florida (last update 8 December 2020)
Checklist of the Dragonflies and
Damselflies of Florida
(last update 25 March 2021)
Additions and corrections to my 1995
"Identification Manual for the Larval Chironomidae (Diptera)
of
Florida" (last update: 24 October 2001)
Additions and corrections to my
1996
"Identification Manual for the Water Beetles of Florida"
(last update: 8 December 2007. - NOTE -
no longer updated; see new 2010 Florida water beetle
manual)
Instructions on how to obtain the NEW HOLARCTIC KEYS for chironomid
larvae and
other oddball papers (last update: 9 November
2016)
A list of my scientific publications
Many available for
download! (last update: 23 February 2021)
A list of new taxa that I've
described
(last update: 28 February 2020)
My collection of "interesting" scientific
names
(last update: 16 February
2003)
My little buddy Gateway (last
update: 13
November 2001)
Notes on insect identification,
biomonitoring and my
identification manuals (last update 16 December 2002)
Information on taxonomic workshops
Hi! I'm John Epler. I've been working with
aquatic insects,
and Chironomidae (non-biting midges) in particular, for over
45 years, as well
as with water beetles for over 20 years. I work as
an independent
researcher/consultant - although I have
written aquatic insect
identification manuals for the states of Florida and North
Carolina/Southeastern
US, I am not employed by any state or federal agency.
Since
earning my Ph.D. from Florida State University over 30 years
ago, I've been
able to make a living by identifying aquatic insects and
writing books/manuals
on how to identify them. This work has enabled me to
fund my own research
describing new genera and species of midges and water beetles.
On this web site
you'll find a small sampling of the results of my research
from the past four +
decades.
ancient picture from
1997, when I first created this site
"modern" picture from 2010
If
you need professional assistance with aquatic insect
identification, QA/QC of
voucher/reference specimen collections, species lists, or
workshops on
chironomid midges, water beetles or water bugs, please
contact me for rates,
availability, etc.
Contact me at
johnepler3ATcomcast.net
[replace the AT with the "at" symbol - @ - ]
AVAILABLE
IDENTIFICATION MANUALS
Identification Guide to the Larvae of the Tribe Tanytarsini
(Diptera: Chironomidae) in Florida
New keys for those pesky Tanytarsini
larvae! Some of the previously letter-designated taxa
now have
"real" names!
To download click here
The larvae of Chironomidae (Diptera) of the
Holarctic Region - Keys
and diagnoses
Yes, the long awaited successor to the classic 1983
Holarctic Keys for
chironomid larvae is now available!
please click HERE for details
OTHER RECENT IDENTIFICATION MANUALS
FLORIDA
WATER BEETLES
The
Water Beetles of Florida - an identification manual for the
families Chrysomelidae,
Curculionidae, Dryopidae, Dytiscidae,
Elmidae, Gyrinidae, Haliplidae, Helophoridae,
Hydraenidae, Hydrochidae,
Hydrophilidae, Noteridae, Psephenidae,
Ptilodactylidae and Scirtidae
(2010).
Sponsored by the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection, this manual
covers larvae and adults of Florida's water beetles, many
illustrated in full
color. Posted on line for
FREE download (152
MB). To download click here
FLORIDA
WATER BUGS
Identification
Manual
for the Aquatic and Semi-aquatic Heteroptera of Florida (Belostomatidae, Corixidae, Gelastocoridae,
Gerridae, Hebridae, Hydrometridae,
Mesoveliidae, Naucoridae, Nepidae,
Notonectidae, Ochteridae, Pleidae,
Saldidae, Veliidae)
(2006)
Sponsored by the
Florida
Department of Environmental Protection, this manual covers the
aquatic and
semi-aquatic true bugs (Heteroptera) of Florida. It
includes the families
Belostomatidae, Corixidae, Gelastocoridae,
Gerridae, Hebridae, Hydrometridae,
Mesoveliidae, Naucoridae, Nepidae,
Notonectidae, Ochteridae, Pleidae,
Saldidae and Veliidae.
The
manual features full color digital pix of most of the bugs! To download click here.
SOUTHEASTERN U.S. LARVAL CHIRONOMIDAE
Identification Manual for the larval
Chironomidae (Diptera) of
North and South Carolina. A guide to the taxonomy of
the midges of the southeastern
United States, including Florida (2001)
Although written in name for North and
South Carolina, this
manual covers the entire
southeastern US. Click here to
download it (about 9 MB).
Links to other
nifty sites:
Midges:
The Chironomid Home Page
Chironomidae
Exchange
Forum
Broughton
Caldwell's Chironomidae of Georgia (USA) checklist
Pete
Cranston's
publications page
Chironomidae
Research Group
at U of Minnesota (Len Ferrington)
Jon
Martin's web page (information on
the genus Chironomus)
The
Russian Chironomid
Home Page
The
Ceratopogonid Web Page
Beetles:
Kelly
Miller's
web site
Andrew
Short's "The Short Research Group" (hydrophilids
galore!!)
Other stuff:
Ephemeroptera
Galactica
- info on mayflies
Florida
Association of Aquatic Biologists (formerly called Florida
Association of Benthologists)
Florida
Department
of Environmental Protection's Identification Manual Library
(downloadable
manuals for many aquatic groups, in PDF format)
Florida
Entomological Society
Friends of
Wakulla Springs
- info on one of the world's wonders and the people that care
about it
ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic
Information
System) - take your chance and look up a name! (some groups,
especially
Chironomidae, still need a lot of work; do
not expect to obtain
accurate taxonomic information on North American Chironomidae
from ITIS!)
Society for
Freshwater Science
(formerly "North American Benthological
Society")
Claudia Nocke's
Wildlife Art - really nifty stuff!
This site was created in July/August 1997 and is
maintained by
J.H. Epler.
All data and
figures on this
web site © John H. Epler, Ph.D.
(last updated 8 December 2020)