Chironomus raparius are a non-biting midge whose larvae feed on the bottoms of streams and ponds. This feeding behavior can expose them to many pollutants such as microplastics, metals, and petroleum by-products. The purpose of this project was to find out if diets rich in antioxidants have an effect on midge larval growth and emergence rates, and to see if they could help bolster midge ability to withstand harmful effects from physiological stressors. Another facet to this project is to see if the organisms can select these diets rich in antioxidants when given the choice. Larval behaviors were investigated while they were trying to find artificial diets enriched with the antioxidant, vitamin E (tocopherol). In one experiment larvae were reared for 21 days on artificial diets supplemented with tocopherol or nothing (control). On day 15, growth rates were estimated by changes in body length over time, and survival, time to pupation, and emergence success on different diets were recorded. Differences among treatments were evaluated using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and a t-test was conducted to see if there was a preference for a certain concentration of tocopherol in the diet. Results from the one-way ANOVA concluded that at least one of the means is different from the other groups (F3,16 = 3.64, p = 0.036). Results from the t-test concluded that midges have a preference for diets containing 2 µL of tocopherol (p = 0.01). Understanding if these organisms can detect higher quality food is important because it can help us eventually know whether they use their diet to help cope with environmental stressors.