Chironomidae are certainly the most speciose and frequently most numerous insect family in most freshwater systems, and are often integral energy-processing components of any freshwater ecosystem. The family also has a number of semi-terrestrial and terrestrial species.

The systematics and taxonomy of such a large group is still in a state of rapid change, with relatively few expert taxonomists active in describing the enormous diversity of this group. Many groups in Chironomidae remain poorly understood, especially genetically, and undoubtedly there exist within genera species-complexes that are only distinguishable with various molecular methods (e.g., Martin 2003). Further, some taxa simply have been poorly sampled and studied, and undoubtedly many new species await description. As a result, the following list must be considered preliminary and by no means definitive. Distribution records are often based on few observations, and for few groups are we knowledgeable about ecological parameters from which we can infer a distribution. Thus, one must be liberal in listing species that could occur in our state. Currently, there are 252 species that have been documented from Michigan, with at least another 272 species (not including undescribed forms) (E. Bright, unpub. info.). I have broken this list into files for each subfamily, assessible using the navigation bar in the frame to the left.