'Aquatic insects' thrive on Catalina Island

Fleas, ticks, and ants are common in households during the summer, and with the hot weather today, they might be making you mad, along with your cats and dogs.
But another world of insects also exists on the surface of the ocean, in small ponds, estuaries, lakes and reserves.
Don't worry, most of them don't bite.
These insects feed off of algae and floating organisms found in stagnant waters.
They are a little more colorful, and have been around for a long time— more than 100 million years, since the age of the dinosaurs.
Although they looked a little different back then, the insects haven't changed much, after all, most insects breed in water anyway, such as mosquitoes that can carry disease and West Nile virus.
"Aquatic insects" can be found off of Catalina Island, according to Carlos de la Rosa, a biologist for the Catalina Island Conservancy who posted a detailed slide show on the conservancy's Web site.
De la Rosa says insects in general have a short life spans and "live fast and die young."
Most butterflies, for example, live only a few weeks to a few months.
However, there are insects, like an African queen termite, that can live up to 50 years.
Among the short-lifers, "aquatic insects" are the champions.
Some, like mayflies, caddisflies and non-biting Mosquito-like midges that come out during the night, only live for a few hours as adults – barely enough time to find a mate and produce the next generation. These aquatic insects live dual lives, though, de la Rosa wrote.
Known scientifically as Chironomidae, the non-biting midges have differences in the sexes, like most insects, where the male has feathery antennas and external organs and the female has a rounder body.
Most of these common aquatic insects are well-known to fly-fishermen who use fake rubber lures that look like the real thing to reel in fresh-water fish.
Besides occasional fish, other species that feed off of aquatic insects are frogs, spiders and birds.
Other aquatic insect species that breathe air and then dive into the water include diving beetles and water boatmans.