Winter mosquitoes are long- winged dipterans with a long and thin body and legs, which makes them similar to representatives of the families of long-legged mosquitoes ( Tipulidae ), tiniderides ( Tanyderidae ), and bird tear ( Ptychopteridae ). The head is round. Antennae usually long, reach posterior margin of chest when bending backward. Flagellum of antennae consists of 16 segments. Palps 5-segmented. Winter mosquitoes on the crown have two or three simple eyes , which distinguishes them from representatives of the above families. Faceted eyes bare ( Cladoneura Scudder ) or in hairs ( Trichocera Meigen ). Mesoscutum with transverse V-shaped suture between wing bases. Wings (5-10 mm) longer than abdomen, usually transparent. Subcostal vein is long. Only four radial veins reach the edge of the wing. A discoidal cell is always present, lying in the distal part of the wing. Vein A 2 is short, flows into the edge of the wing far from the confluence of A 1. The diagnostic feature is the length of the first segment of the tarsus. In Trichocerinae it is elongated, while in Paracladurinae it is short, barely noticeable [1] [3] [4] .
Venation of Trichoceridae wing.
C : costal vein;
Sc : subcostal vein;
R : radial veins;
M : medial veins;
Cu : cubital veins;
A : anal veins;
h : shoulder vein;
rm : radio medial vein;
bm-cu : medio-cubital-basal vein;
dm-cu : medio-cubital-discal vein;
dm : discoidal cell.
Adult mosquitoes occur in spring and late fall. Some may be active even in the winter, which is why they were given the name “winter mosquitoes”. Males form swarms, especially on sunny days. One of the few representatives of dipterans found in the taiga zone in the winter months. They can also be found by vacationers in caves, mines, cellars and hollows of trees. Fly to the light. Larvae are found in humid places where they feed on rotting plant debris, carcasses and animal excrement, and mushrooms [1] [4] . Antarctica is inhabited by penguin litter and nests of other birds. The duration of larval development is from several weeks to several months [5] .
Based on the imaginal characteristics, the family is included in the Tipulomorpha infraorder, and on the basis of larval characters, it is referred to as Psychodomorpha . There are about 200 species in 15 genera in the world fauna. The family is divided into four subfamilies [3] .
- Subfamily Ewauristinae Shcherbakov & Azar, 2019
- † Ewaurista Shcherbakov & Azar , 2019 - Lebanon, Early Cretaceous , 1 species [6]
- Subfamily Kovalevinae Krzemińska, Krzemiński and Dah, 2009
- † Kovaleva Krzemińska , Krzemiński & Dahl , 2009 - Russia ( Transbaikalia ), Jurassic period , 6 species [3]
- Subfamily Paracladurinae Krzeminska 1992
- Asdura Krzemińska , 2006 (= Adura Krzeminska, 2005) - New Zealand , 4 species [7] .
- Nothotrichocera Alexander , 1926 - Australia and New Zealand, 11 species [3] [7] .
- Paracladura Brunetti , 1911 - Holarctic , 31 species [3] [8]
- Zedura Krzemińska , 2005 - Australia, New Zealand, South America ( Chile , Argentina ), 17 species [9]
- Subfamily Trichocerinae Kertesz 1902
- Cladoneura Scudder , 1894 (= Diazosma Bergroth, 1913) - Holarctic, 6 species [10]
- † Eotrichocera Kalugina , 1985 - China , Mongolia , Russia ( Buryatia , Yakutia ), Jurassic period, 7 species [3]
- † Mailotrichocera Kalugina, 1985 - Germany , Kyrgyzstan , Russia (Transbaikalia), Jurassic period, 9 species [2] [3] .
- † Karatina Krzemińska , Krzemiński , Dahl & Lukashevich , 2009 - Kazakhstan , Russia (Eastern Siberia), Jurassic and Cretaceous period , 3 species [3]
- † Paleotrichocera Kalugina, 1986 - Mongolia, Cretaceous, 1 species [11] .
- † Rasnitsynina Krzemińska , Krzemiński & Dahl , 2009 - Russia (Transbaikalia), Jurassic and Cretaceous, 2 species [3]
- † Tanychoreta Zhang , 2006 - China, Kazakhstan, Russia (Transbaikalia), Jurassic period, 9 species [3]
- Trichocera Meigen , 1803 - Holarctic, Oriental , Australia, over 109 species [12] [13]
- † Zherikhinina Krzemińska , Krzemiński & Dahl , 2009 - China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia (Eastern Siberia, Transbaikalia), Jurassic and Cretaceous, 9 species [3]
- † Undaya Krzemińska , Krzemiński & Dahl , 2009 - Mongolia, Russia (Transbaikalia, Yakutia), Jurassic period, 17 species [3] .
