Abstract
In a southern California reservoir, benthic larval density of chironomid midges was assessed 10 times between Aug 1974 and July 1975, at <1 m, 3-4 m, and 6-8 m water depths. Larvae belonging to 9 midge genera were taken. Tanytarsus spp, Chironomus spp, and Procladius spp were predominant, forming > 85% of the total chironomid larvae recovered on any sampling occasion from the entire basin. The monthly qualitative composition of midge fauna differed slightly between the 3 depth levels, but the quantitative composition changed markedly from one level to the next. Midge density was consistently higher in the < 1 m deep areas than in the 3-4 m and the 6-8 m deep levels. Tanytarsus spp were predominant at the < 1 m depths. Chironomus spp and Procladius spp were more prevalent in the other 2 deeper regions.