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DIPTERA, Ceratopogonidae -- <Images> & <Juveniles> Please refer to the
following link for further details: Ceratopogonidae: Link 1 Description & Statistics Adults are the common biting midges, no-see-ums, midgies, sand flies, punkies, which
feed on warm-blooded animals and humans.
They pare parasitic on other insects in the zoological sense rather in
the parasitoidal sense. 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. 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). 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. 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. = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = References: Please refer to <biology.ref.htm>, [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). Bulletin of the 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. 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. 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. Wirth, W. W.,
N. C. Ratanaworabhan, & D.H.
Messersmith. 1977. Natural history of Plummers Island, Maryland. XXII. Biting
midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). 1. Introduction and key to genera.
Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington, 90(3): 615–647. |