Sometimes, midges invade factories and contaminate fabrics, plastics, packed materials, etc. Other times, thick swarms can cause allergic reactions in susceptible individuals and even cause traffic hazards. Even economic losses occur when customers go elsewhere from certain motels and restaurants to avoid nuisance midges that are attracted to night-lights on their premises. Female midges lay eggs in masses over open water or attach to vegetation. The larval stage takes about four weeks followed by pupation lasting usually 48 hours.
Pupa emerge from their pupal skin, rising to the water surface like a mosquito.
Adults do not eat and have a short life span of five to ten days. Males swarm at dusk with mating occurring after females enter the swarm. Midges overwinter in the larval stage. They are beneficial as an important item of food for many freshwater fish and other aquatic animals. Larvae are aquatic or semiaquatic, found in moist sand, mud, decaying vegetation of salt and freshwater marshes, ponds and streams.