Chironomus larva

Pliocene

Rita Blanca Formation

Oldham County, TX USA.

4mm larva on 68mm slab.

Insect.  Diptera.

Chironomus is a genus of non-biting midge (tiny fly) that dates back at least to the Eocene as it is known from Middle Eocene-age Baltic amber.  It belongs to the Family Chironomidae which goes back much further in time to the Late Triassic.

The weird thing about larval midges is that they live at the bottom of ponds and lakes that are deep enough that sunlight doesn’t reach the bottom.