File: <ceratopogonidaemed.htm> <Medical Index> <General Index> Site Description Glossary <Navigate
to Home>
|
Arthropoda: Diptera CERATOPOGONIDAE (Contact) Please
CLICK on
underlined links to view: [See: <Ceratopogonidae Key>]
Over 5,500 species of biting midges
in 104 genera are known, but Service (2008) noted that only four genera feed
on vertebrates. Most important of
these are Leptoconops and Culicoides. Males with feathery
antennae do not feed on blood, while the females with straight antennae do take blood meals. The primary
habitat is along the seacoast and the shores of lakes and rivers. The larvae are aquatic or semiaquatic in
the sand, decaying vegetation or mud and in tree holes containing water. Breeding along the seacoast is possible in
the intertidal zone. Their habit of remaining close to the larval
developmental sites allows one to simply move a short distance away to avoid
being attacked. CHARACTERISTICS Adults are the common biting midges, no-see-ums,
midgies, sand flies, punkies, which feed on warm-blooded animals and humans. They are parasitic on other insects. They feed on body fluids of the host
insect but do not cause its death. Several
species of Forcipomyia and Lasiohelea have been observed on the
wings of Tipulidae, and Phasmidohelea
spp. from the bodies of Phasmidae. Pterobosca sp. and Forcipomyia
sp. have been found to feed at the wings of
dragonflies. A few species of the
latter are known to attack caterpillars.
As many as 9 adults of Atrichopogon
melosugans Kieff. were observed
feeding through the intersegmental membranes of adult Meloe sp. beetles in England and Algeria
(Blair 1937). They are believed to
feed mainly on the newly hatched larvae of Culicidae, Trichoptera and
Chironomidae. This is a family of small flies (1–4 mm long) in the order
Diptera. They are closely related to the Chironomidae, Simuliidae (or black
flies), and Thaumaleidae. Ceratopogonids are found in almost any aquatic or
semiaquatic habitat throughout the world. Females of most species are adapted
to suck blood from some kind of host animal. Culicoides,
Forcipomyia (Lasiohelea),
and Leptoconops suck vertebrate
blood. Some Atrichopogon and Forcipomyia are ectoparasites on larger
insects. Dasyhelea feed exclusively on
nectar. Species in other genera are predatory on other small insects. Oviposition that varies with the species occurs in batches
of 30-350 on mud and wet soil near marshland or other aquatic habitats and on
decaying organic matter (Service 2008).
Larvae are always found in some damp location, such as under bark, in
rotten wood, compost, mud, stream margins, tree holes, or water-holding
plants (i.e., phytotelmata). The
larvae feed on decaying organic matter and can complete their development in
less than a week. The pupal stage
remains for just a few days also. MEDICAL
IMPORTANCE Many of the
hematophagic (blood-eating) species are pests in beach or mountain habitats.
Some other species are important pollinators of tropical crops such as cacao.
The blood-sucking species may be vectors of disease-causing viruses,
protozoa, and filarial worms. The bite of midges in the genus Culicoides causes an allergic response
in equines known as sweet itch. In humans, their bite can cause intensely
itchy, red welts that can persist for more than a week. The discomfort arises
from a localized allergic reaction to the proteins in their saliva, which can
be somewhat alleviated by topical antihistamines. In Africa Culicoides milnei,
C. austeni and C. grahamii vector filarial worms Mansonella perstans and other species of
this genus. Culicoides furens vectors Mansonella ozzardi in the Americas. Among the Leptoconops
only a few are vectors of disease but all are ferocious biters. In South America a few species are vectors
of arboviruses. Some members of the family are small enough to pass
through the apertures in typical window screens. Camping tents are often
equipped with extra-fine mesh netting, called no-see-um nets, to keep the
pests out. CONTROL Control of these tiny flies is difficult,
with repellents being the only practical procedure. Destruction of their breeding sites is too expensive and
spraying with insecticides not very effective. Again because of the resistance problem, the use of
insecticides is not a long term effective procedure. In California applying urea to the
breeding habitat of Leptoconops foulki and
L. kertezi did not give adequate control (71. ), but natural enemy activity was significant and its
disturbance with chemical spraying may give rise to increased midge densities
(192. ). = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Key References: <medvet.ref.htm> <Hexapoda> [Additional references may be
found at: MELVYL Library ] Blanton, F. S. & W. W. Wirth. 1979. The sand flies (Culicoides) of Florida
(Ceratopogonidae). Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land Areas Volume 10. Florida Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services. Borkent,
A. & W. W. Wirth. 1997. World species of
biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Bull. American Museum of Natural
History 233:1–257. Clastrier, J. & W. W. Wirth. 1978. The Leptoconops
kerteszi complex in North America (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).
United States
Department of Agriculture
Technical Bulletin Number 1573 Downes, J. A. & W. W. Wirth. 1981. Chapter 28: Ceratopogonidae. Pp.
393–421. In: McAlpine, J.F.,
B.V. Peterson, G.E. Shewell, H.J. Teskey,
J.R. Vockeroth, and D.M. Wood.
Manual of Nearctic Diptera, Volume 1. Agriculture Canada Monograph 27. Hendry, G. 2003. Midges in Scotland 4th Edition, Mercat
Press, Edinburgh. Jobling, B. 1928.
The structure of the head and the mouth parts of Culicoides pulicaris L. Bull. Ent. Res.
18: 211-36 Kettle, D. S. 1965.
Biting certatopogonids as vectors of human and animal diseases. Acta Trop. 22: 356-62. Kettle, D. S. 1969.
The ecology and control of blood-sucking ceratopogonids. Ann. Rev. Ent. 22: 33-51. Legner,
E. F. 1995. Biological control of Diptera of medical
and veterinary importance. J. Vector
Ecology 20(1): 59-120. Legner, E. F.. 2000.
Biological control of aquatic Diptera. p. 847-870.
Contributions to a Manual of Palaearctic Diptera, Vol. 1, Science Herald, Budapest. 978 p Legner,
E. F., R. D. Sjogren & J. T. Wiles.
1970. Effects of low biuret
urea on natural populations of Hippelates
collusor (Townsend) and Leptoconops kerteszi (Kieffer). J. Amer. Mosq. Contr.
Assoc. 30(4): 634-640. 71. Legner,
E. F., R. D. Sjogren & L. L. Luna.
1980. Arthropod
fauna cohabiting larval breeding sites of Leptoconops
foulki Clastrier & Wirth in the Santa Ana River, California. J. Amer. Mosq. Contr. Assoc. 40(1): 46-54.
192. Linley,
J. R., A. L. Hoch & F. P. Pinheiro.
1983. Biting
midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) and human health. J. Med. Ent. 20:
347-64. Mullen, G. R. and L.J. Hribar. 1988.
Biology and feeding behavior of ceratopogonid larvae (Diptera:
Ceratopogonidae) in North America. Bulletin of the Society for Vector
Ecology 13: 60–81. Mullens,
B. A. and R. K. Velten. 1994. Rearing Culicoides
variipennis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) on agar and nematodes. J. Med. Ent. 31: 175-177. Mullens,
B. A. and R. K. Velten. 1994. Laboratory culture and life
history of Heleidomermis magnapapula
in its host, Culicoides variipennis
(Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).
J. Nematol. 26: 1-10. Matheson, R. 1950. Medical Entomology. Comstock Publ. Co, Inc. 610 p. Paine, E. O. and B. A.
Mullens. 1994. Distribution, seasonal occurrence, and patterns of parasitism
of Heleidomermis magnapapula (Nematoda: Mermithidae), a parasite of Culicoides variipennis
(Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in California. Environ. Entomol. 23: 154-160. Service, M. 2008. Medical Entomology For Students. Cambridge Univ. Press. 289 p Wirth, W. W. & F. S. Blanton. 1974. The West Indian
sandflies of the genus Culicoides
(Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). United States Department of Agriculture Technical Bulletin
Number 1474. Wirth, W. W. &
W. L. Grogan, Jr. 1988. The Predaceous Midges of the World (Diptera:
Ceratopogonidae; Tribe Ceratopogonini). Flora and
Fauna Handbook Number 4. E.J. Brill Publishers, Leiden. xv + 160 pp. |
%20sp.jpg){kind=link}
FURTHER DETAIL = <Entomology>, <Insect Morphology>, <Identification Keys>