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Found this little Nematocera in France between Metz and Thionville the 15/03/2012 C.
Length 5 mm. Perhaps Chironomus riparius ?

Thank you
Louis

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Another photo

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third photo

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And the last photo

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Chironomini. Could be Chironomus. I can't make out the shape of the pronotum or the male genitalia.

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A photo of the end of the abdomen

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Another photo of the pronotum

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The tip of the abdomen has been rotated so I see a side view and I can't make out the appendages between the large claspers.

The middle of the pronotum is the interesting part. It usually has a notch which can be broad or narrow, shallow or deep. See: http://www.dipter...ost_200847.

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Thank you John
Here a photo of the part of the pronotum just after the head

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And another photo of the end of the abdomen

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Now I'm confused. If the gonostyli are folded in it isn't anywhere near Chironomus, which has them fused to gonocoxites. I have also noticed that R5 is much shorter than the wing and M ends near wingtip; the veins end equidistant from wingtip in the Chironomus group and most Chironomini.

The short fore tibia does argue in favor of Chironominae but is hard to interpret without the fore tarsus to compare. The ratio (length of fore basitarsus / length of fore tibia) is nearly always 1 or greater in Chironominae and is less than 1 in other subfamilies (except for a few primitive Orthocladiinae). Do you recall how the front legs were held when it was alive? The fore femur of Chironominae is held elevated, usually vertical, and the legs are used like antennae. Other subfamilies use their legs as legs.

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The only photo I have with the legs ?

Thank you very much
Louis