Love Chocolate? Thank Pollinators!

Have you ever wondered where your favorite chocolate comes from? Chocolate relies on pollinators to fertilize the cacao flowers, which turn into the beans we use to create it. While bees take care of most of the pollinating around the world, we can also thank our tiny friends, the biting or chocolate midge. Chocolate midges, part of the Ceratopogonidae family and in the order Diptera (flies), only get to be up to 3 millimeters (about 0.12 in) long and are the perfect size to pollinate cacao flowers. Found in parts of Central America, South America, Asia, and Africa, chocolate midges thrive at night and are drawn to the seventy-five different aromas present in the opened cacao flowers.

Midges, especially adult males, are famous for joining together in swarms. Drawn to the different sound frequencies of the females’ wingbeats, male midges have been known to react to humans clapping and singing. The whole swarm will ‘leap’ or ‘dance’ to the beat of your song or clap.

With over 800 species of midges in North America and more than 4,000 species worldwide, it is likely you will come across at least a few of them in your own neighborhood. As you collect observations for Global Pollinator Watch, don’t forget about some of the additional functions and information available on iNaturalist.

Using iNaturalist, not only are you able to identify what species you’re looking at, but you can learn more about its habitat, abundance, region, and more. We hope that you can continue to upload your observations, identify more species, and participate in a global effort to help aid our world’s remarkable biodiversity. You never know, you might find a chocolate midge or a distant relative in your backyard or while walking the streets of your town.

Posted on July 2, 2024 06:19 PM by zbelis