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Hi, is this a Ceratopoginid larva? I collected some pieces of Platanus bark with tree exudates, and reared some things from it. One was a greenish ceratopogonid male, and also a Medetera-like Doli was reared. I also found interesting Histiostomatid mites.

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ASk it to demonstrate head or edn of body. Most likely Mycetobiidae but only from the habitat - tree exudate

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Hello!
It is a ceratopogonid larva, probably Dasyhelea flavifrons.
Patrycja

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Thanks for both of You! This is a specimen reared: could this be the Dasyhelea?

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yes, it is.

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This is great, to have the larva and an adult also:) Thank You!

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Please be very careful with this larva identification. Natalia Brodskaya (Zool. Inst. St.-Petersburg) has not recognized Dasyhelea in it - she is a specialist in Dasyhelea. Sometimes you see larvae of one species and imago may be from another family even if they are at the same time and in same location.

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Ok, I am not a specialist in Dasyhelea that is why I wrote “probably Dasyhelea flavifrons” :). I know that larvae of Ceratopogonidae, Anisopodidae, Mycetobiidae, Dolichopodidae, Muscidae, Aulacigastridae, Syrphidae etc. live in a sap running down from trees. If I remember correctly, the larvae of Anisopodidae and Mycetobiidae have a number of supplementary segments, don’t they? This larva looks like ceratopogonid. Among the biting midges some species of the genus Culicoides and Dasyhelea are known from this kind of habitat. I have reared thousands of biting midges from larvae collected with sap and I have had specimens belonging to the booth genera. Because of the larvae of Culicoides usually have a short neck segment and a characteristic pattern on the thoracic segments, I suppose that this one is a Dasyhelea larva. There is known only one species of Dasyhelea midges from sap - D. flavifrons. Of course, there is a probability that this is the larva of Culicoides which does not possess pigmented spots:) It will be necessary to kill the larva in hot water and to find the posterior hooks in order to be absolutely sure:).
Regards,
Patrycja

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Thank You for raising attention on that. I sent the pictures to gallery but with 'cf' to indicate it's not absolutely sure. In spring I'll collect larvae, and keep them separated in Eppendorfs. I'm thinking in giving them a little sugar+water or even honey to see if it's a good growing substrate for them.

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Why in spring;)? Try now to find some sap. I collected materials one month ago (we have a real winter in Poland) - a lot of larvae (the second and the third stage???), not only these of ceratopogonids.

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Really? Didn't think of that. We also have a harsh winter. But the tree-saps I knew run out :( Hope they'll produce saps again.