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Insects have invaded marine habitats only rarely and secondarily. Recently, we discovered a flightless dipteran species skating rapidly on the surface of seawater ponds at the Pacific coast of eastern China. Morphological analyses initially suggested an isolated position of the non‐biting midge, suggesting the erection of a new genus within Chironomini (Diptera: Chironomidae). However, an analysis of molecular data revealed that the marine species is in fact nested within the species‐rich genus Dicrotendipes. The apparent conflict between molecular and morphological data can be easily explained. It is likely that the new species has evolved a series of autapomorphic adaptations. These traits clearly distinguish the taxon from other species of the genus but do not justify the erection of a new supraspecific taxon, which would render Dicrotendipes paraphyletic. The switch to marine environments was likely a trigger for various morphological modifications resulting from increased selective pressure. Molecular data suggest that the potential speciation event occurred around 19–29 Ma, linked with a migration from freshwater to seawater ponds along the Pacific Ocean. Considering the results of our analysis, we place the flightless marine skater in the genus Dicrotendipes. All life stages of Dicrotendipes sinicus Qi & Lin sp. n. are described and illustrated, associated with larvae obtained by rearing or confirmed through association with DNA barcodes. The biology and ecology of the species are outlined based on collection data and in situ observations. Evolutionary patterns linked with repeated invasions of marine habitats are discussed.

The genus Manoa and the tribe Pseudochironomini are recorded from the Oriental region for the first time. Manoa xianjuensis Qi & Lin sp. n. from Xianju National Park, Zhejiang, China is described and illustrated as adult male and female, the latter associated with the male by standard DNA barcodes. A neighbor joining tree based on available Pseudochironomini DNA barcodes and keys to the adults in Manoa are given.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Polypedilum unifascium (Diptera: Chironomidae) was determined by Illumina sequencing technology. The whole mitogenome is 16,452 bp in length with an A þ T bias of 79.3%, and contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), and two ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs). All PCGs start with ATN codon and use TAA as the stop codon. Gene arrangement of the 13 PCGs is identical to that of other known Chironomidae mitochondrial genomes. The resultant Bayesian inference and maximum-likelihood trees based on the sequence data of 13 PCGs support its close relationship with P. vanderplanki.