The CIE, issued twice a year (no subscription costs but donations to help with photocopying/mailing costs are welcomed), was begun in 1968 as a newsletter to facilitate communication between workers interested in Ceratopogonidae.  The format is extremely flexible.  Contributions may be of any length and deal with any subject having some bearing on the study of  ceratopogonids.  For example, contributors may report their current interests or plans, observations or techniques of probable value to the readership, requests for addresses, study material or reprints, or any other matter of concern.  The newsletter serves also as a bulletin for planning and communicating information on meetings, symposia, workshops and so
forth.  Finally, there is in every issue a compilation of recent literature in the field.

      Any person(s) wishing to contribute to the newsletter or to receive future issues via e-mail should contact :

Dr. C. Steven Murphree     e-mail: murphrees@mail.belmont.edu
Department of Biology        Phone: 615-460-6221
Belmont University              Fax: 615-460-5458
1900 Belmont Boulevard
Nashville, TN  37212-3757
U.S.A.

Dear Ceratopogonid Colleagues,

    I would like to express my thanks to those researchers who have submitted contributions for this issue of CIE.  Currently, there are 107 CIE subscribers who will receive this issue as an e-mail attachment or hyperlink.  An additional 33 subscribers still receive hard copies because I could find no e-mail address for them.  My continued out-of-pocket costs of postage for each mailing is approximately $25.00 U.S.D.   So, I still need to receive monetary contributions of any amount to offset these fees as well as the $816.00 that I have paid for printing and mailing previous issues prior to converting to e-mail distribution.

   Please send me the titles of papers not cited in the Recent Literature section.  The research databases that I use do not always find every paper published in the six months since my last search.  I welcome your feedback/suggestions for improvement of both the newsletter format and the website.

    Please take a look at Art Borkent's informative link about the study of Ceratopogonidae referenced here and on the CIE website.

    Lastly, I have been informed by my university's information technology staff that the CIE website will likely have a new web address (url) later this year.  When this occurs, I will send the new one to you via e-mail.

Steve Murphree, Nashville

Announcements:

Information Concerning the 2003 Joint Meeting of the Biting Fly Workshop and the North American Dipterists Society

This meeting was held May 16-20 at Hocking Hills State Park in southern Ohio.  A report and possibly a list of species collected will appear in the November issue of CIE.   Many thanks to Greg Dahlem for organizing this meeting.  Please follow  the following link to Greg's webpage, scroll down and click on "NADS" for information about this meeting:

New CIE Subscribers/Address Changes:

New Subscribers:

Dr. Javier  Lucientes       jlucien@unizar.es
Departamento de Patología Animal. Sanidad Animal
(Parasitología y Enfermedades Parasitarias)
Facultad de Veterinaria. Universidad de Zaragoza
50013 Zaragoza.
SPAIN
Phone: 976 761 560 Fax: 976 761 612

Dr Damien Nolan         d.nolan@abdn.ac.uk
School of Biological Sciences (Zoology)
University of Aberdeen
Tillydrone Avenue
Aberdeen AB24 2TZ
Scotland
UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1224 272868
Fax: +44 (0) 1224 272396

Address Changes:

Dr. Alison Blackwell's e-mail address has changed to:  alison.blackwell@ed.ac.uk

Dr. Errol Nevill's e-mail address until September:        hildanevill@mweb.co.za
and after his move to New Zealand during September:    wnevill@xtra.co.nz

Query from Clive Easton            clivee@tweed.nsw.gov.au
Tweed Shire Council
P.O. Box 816
Murwillumbah NSW 2484
Australia

    I would like to pose a vexing question to CIE readers regarding an anomalous photo-response observed in Culicoides larvae some years ago.  Here at Tweed Shire Council, in northern NSW Australia, we have been monitoring larval populations of estuarine-breeding Culicoides midges for over 20 years.  The main species we deal with are Culicoides molestus and C. subimmaculatus.  During the course of these studies, the larvae have always shown a negative response to direct light.  We use this attribute to assist with counting live larvae by shining a fibre optic light onto larvae lightly centrifuged into the center of a beaker of water.

    Several years ago we were counting C. subimmaculatus larvae in the laboratory following a field trial with an insect growth regulator (IGR) when my assistant called out to me that the larvae were swimming towards the light and not away as was usually the case.  I had a look and he was correct.  The rest of the series of larvae (all C. subimmaculatus) we collected that day also showed photo-positive behaviour.  Since that day we have not seen photo-positive behaviour again!  We tried mixing some larvae in various IGR solutions in case there was a chemical effect on photo-response but could not reproduce the symptoms.

    I am mystified as to why this reversal of normal behaviour occurred on one day only and would be pleased to hear from anyone who may enlighten me or has a suggestion.

Regards,
Clive Easton

Can you help me by indicating researchers on larval ceratopogonids to whom I can send my collections of these larvae
sampled in perennial and temporary ponds in Central Italy for a generic and/or specific identification?
Waiting for your answer, I thank you for your kind cooperation.

Dr Marcello Bazzanti
Dept. Animal and Human Biology, University "La Sapienza",
v.le dell'Università 32, 00185 Roma, Italy
 

Contribution From Dr. Art Borkent          aborkent@jetstream.net
British Columbia, Canada

I think it would be useful to some people to have a link to the following webpage:

In it, I lay out the basics of studying ceratopogonids as well as the basics of what we know about the beasts.

1171 Mallory Rd
Enderby, British Columbia, V0E 1V3
Canada

Contribution From Dr. S.K.Dasgupta     subhamiracal@vsnl.net
Retired Professor of Zoology
Presidency College, Calcutta 700073 India
& Collaborator Dr. P.K. Chaudhuri       chaudhuri_pk@yahoo.co.in
Professor of Zoology Burdwan University
Golap Bag Burdwan 713104 India

    In our continued efforts to bring to light the updated data on biting midges of India, we may now report the
following :

    (1) two taxonomic papers by us awaiting publication are:

        (a)  "Biting midges of the genus Atrichopogon Kieffer..... from India", by Bose, M., Dasgupta, S.K. and Chaudhuri,
                P.K., in Tijdschrift v. Entomol.

        (b)  "Biting midges of the genus Dasyhelea Kieffer....from India", by  Bose, M., Dasgupta,S.K. and Chaudhuri, P.K.. in
             Studia Dipterolog.

The first paper contains a key to 43 species of Indian Atrichopogon midges, 28 of which are now described with
illustrations as new to science while the second one contains a key to 17 species of Indian Dasyhelea midges, 4 of which are now described with illustrations as new to science.

    We are also preparing to publish one very comprehensive paper on Indian species of Forcipomyia midges which are
found widely distributed and on which we have a very competently done manuscript pending for long. We are finalizing our
contentions on critical points of this paper and hope to send it to press in near future.

      For correspondence in respect of our work on ceratopogonid midges, it will be better to contact my collaborator Dr. P.K.Chaudhuri of Burdwan University.  We shall be helped in our work if reprints of publications made by colleagues elsewhere on those midges are sent to us at their convenience and for which we shall remain indebted to them.

With thanks,

SKDG
Calcutta 10 May 2003.

   With the continuing importance of bluetongue disease in the Mediterranean basin research on all aspects of the disease and its epidemiology is becoming more prominent at this time. Our group at the University of Aberdeen is involved in an ongoing research initiative looking at developing molecular markers to measure gene flow in Culicoides imicola. This biting midge is the most important Old World vector of African horse sickness and bluetongue disease. Recent increases of bluetongue incidence in the Mediterranean basin are attributed to the increased abundance or distribution of C. imicola. Although bluetongue epidemiology is strongly linked to the phylogenetic status and genetic structure of its North American vector, little is known about these aspects in relation to C. imicola in the Mediterranean basin.

   Part of our work involves the analysis of partial mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI) sequences to determine the phylogenetic structure of C. imicola within the Mediterranean basin. To date we have compared samples of C. imicola from Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Corsica, Sicily, Greece, Turkey and Israel with 4 other species of the Culicoides imicola species complex from southern Africa, and initiated characterisation of the spatial scale of genetic subdivision within C. imicola. The 133 C. imicola analysed represented eighteen haplotypes and these formed one well-supported clade in a neighbour-joining tree providing strong evidence for the presence of only C. imicola in the Mediterranean basin. When only the C. imicola samples were analysed, genetic subdivision within the Mediterranean basin was evident. We identified one cluster corresponding to the samples from Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Corsica in the western Mediterranean, and two clusters corresponding to the samples from Greece, Turkey and Israel in the eastern Mediterranean. Interestingly, Sicily appears to be a focal point for incursions of C. imicola from both the western and eastern Mediterranean basin.

   These results suggest that female-mediated gene flow in C. imicola in these areas is either limited or non-existent except within the central region of the Mediterranean basin (Sicily and perhaps mainland Italy).  This may imply that vector-mediated bluetongue outbreaks in different regions of the Mediterranean basin will be independent of each other, although the central region of the Mediterranean basin is more likely to be affected by outbreaks in these different regions. We hypothesise that the genetic subdivision identified in the present study reflects true population subdivision in C. imicola between eastern and western parts of the Mediterranean basin: either an isolation-by-distance pattern or a discontinuous pattern following colonisation from 2 or more sources.  We also hypothesize that subdivision of the vector explains why present and previous bluetongue outbreaks in these areas had different geographical sources and routes of spread.  The latter hypothesis has important implications for epidemiological monitoring and vaccination programs for bluetongue, and we are presently testing it by further analysis of the phylogeography and use of more rapidly evolving markers for C. imicola in the Mediterranean basin.

Dr Damien Nolan
School of Biological Sciences (Zoology)
University of Aberdeen
Tillydrone Avenue
Aberdeen AB24 2TZ
Scotland
UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1224 272868
Fax: +44 (0) 1224 272396
d.nolan@abdn.ac.uk

    Our Culicoides projects have been continuing at a somewhat reduced level due to lack of funding. As reported earlier in CIE, I am involved with Dr. Carol Cardona (UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine) in a study of Haemoproteus lophortyx in bobwhite (non-native) quail in northern California. Our suspicion is that Culicoides are transmitting the pathogen there. The main suspect is C. multidentatus.

A more recent project involves allergic dermatitis in horses on the Palos Verdes Peninsula of southern Los Angeles County. This is an amazing place. One minute you are gritting your teeth  in dense, white-knuckle  Los Angeles traffic, the next minute you enter a coastal mountain community chock-full of fairly wealthy horse owners on rural lots. We have been using eight dry ice-baited suction traps (CDC type) without light on 4 premises every 1-2 weeks  for about 1 year. Over the years I have had very good luck with these traps for collecting mammal-feeders. Of known mammal feeders, we have collected mostly C. sonorensis (peak in summer and early fall), C. freeborni (late summer and fall peak), and low numbers (but one or a few per trap are common in spring) of C. obsoletus. Interestingly, a cooperating local veterinarian and another horse owner have collected much larger numbers (5-10 per 2 min. vacuum sample on the belly) of C. obsoletus directly from horses near dusk. These are sites we are sampling with the suction traps and getting very few C.obsoletus. We are investigating the relative lack of C. obsoletus in our suction traps now,  including placing the small incandescent light bulb back in (doesn’t seem to help so far). I would be very interested to hear from colleagues who have used CO₂-baited suction traps for obsoletus (Culicoides enter from above and are blown into the catch bag below). The preponderance of literature has used light traps for this species. We suspect that C. obsoletus is attracted to the CO₂, but some aspect of near-trap behavior prevents them from being caught in significant numbers.
 

Recent Literature:

Taxonomy and Morphology

Beckenbach, A. and A. Borkent.  2003.  Molecular analysis of the biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), based on
    mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 2. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 27:21-35.

Delecolle, J.-C. ans S. de La Rocque. 2002. Contribution to the study of the Culicoides of Corsica. Liste of the
    recensed species in 2000/2001 and redescription of the major vector of the catarrhal ovine fever: C. imicola Kieffer,
    1913 (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae). Bulletin de la Societe Entomologique de France 107(4): 371-379.

Li, G.Q., Hu, Y.L., Kanu, S. and X.Q. Zhu. 2003. PCR amplification and sequencing of ITS1 rDNA of Culicoides
    arakawae. Veterinary Parasitology 112(1-2): 101-108.

Liu Guo-ping. 2002. A new species of Culicoides (Oecacta) (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from Heilongjiang province,
    China. Entomotaxonomia 24(3): 191-193.

Liu, Zeng-jia, Zhang, Ji-jun and Yuan-qiong Luo. 2002. A new species and a new record of Dasyhelea (Diptera:
   Ceratopogonidae) from Qinghai Province, China. Entomotaxonomia 24(4): 257-260.

Liu, Zeng-jia and Shu-zhen Shi. 2002. On a new species and a new record of biting midges (Diptera:
    Ceratopogonidae) from China. Entomotaxonomia 24(3): 187-190.

Marino, P. I. and G.R. Spinelli. 2002. A revision of the Forcipomyia squamitibia group in the neotropics with
    the description of three new species (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Insect Science and its Application 22(4): 307-319.

Yu, Y.X. and G. Yan. 2003. A new species of the Asian predaceous midge genus Pseudostilobezzia Wirth and
    Ratanaworabhan (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from Hainan, China. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of
    Washington. 105(1): 238-239.

Ecology and Methodology

Bayly, I.A.E. 2001. Invertebrate occurrence and succession after episodic flooding of a central Australian rock-hole.
    Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia. 84 (1): 29-32.

Brei, B., Cribb, B.W. and D.J. Merritt. 2003. Effects of seawater components on immature Culicoides molestus
    (Skuse) (Diptera : Ceratopogonidae). Australian Journal of Entomology 42(2): 119-123.

Calistri, P., Goffredo, M., Caporale, V. and R. Meiswinkel. 2003. The distribution of Culicoides imicola in Italy:
    Application and evaluation of current Mediterranean models based on climate. Journal of Veterinary Medicine
    Series B-Infectious Diseases and Veterinary Public Health 50(3): 132-138.

Conte, A., Giovannini, A., Savini, L., Goffredo, M., Calistri, P. and R. Meiswinkel. 2003. The effect of climate
    on the presence of Culicoides imicola in Italy.  Journal of Veterinary Medicine Series B-Infectious Diseases
    and Veterinary Public Health 50(3): 139-147.

Cribb, B.W., Brei, B., Ridley, A.W. and D.J. Merritt. 2003. Occurrence of immature Culicoides molestus
    (Skuse) (Diptera : Ceratopogonidae) in relation to habitat characteristics. Australian Journal of Entomology
    42(2): 114-118.

Dyce, A.L. 2001. Biogeographic origins of species of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) of the
    Australasian region. Arbovirus Research in Australia. 8: 133-140.

Garvin, M.C. and E.C. Greiner. 2003.  Ecology of Culicoides (Diptera : Ceratopogonidae) in southcentral Florida
    and experimental Culicoides vectors of the avian hematozoan Haemoproteus danilewskyi Kruse. Journal of
    Wildlife Diseases 39(1): 170-178.

Johansen C.A., Farrow R.A., Morrisen A., Foley P., Bellis G., Van Den Hurk A.F., Montgomery B.,
    Mackenzie J.S. and S.A. Ritchie. Collection of wind-borne haematophagous insects in the Torres Strait,
    Australia. 2003. Medical Veterinary Entomology 17(1):102-109.

Miranda, M.A., Borras, D., Rincon, C. and A. Alemany. 2003. Presence in the Balearic Islands (Spain) of the
    midges Culicoides imicola and Culicoides obsoletus group. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 17(1): 52-54.

Ronderos, M.M., Greco, N.M. and G.R. Spinelli. 2003. Diversity of biting midges of the genus Culicoides Latreille
    (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in the area of the Yacyreta Dam Lake between Argentina and Paraguay. Memorias do
    Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 98(1): 19-24.
 

Bluetongue Virus and Other Pathogens

Abdalla, M. A., Aradaib, I. E. and B. I. Osburn. 2002. Evaluation of RT-PCR for detection of Sudanese serotypes
    of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus serogroup. Veterinarski Arhiv 72(6): 311-318.

Anon. 2002. Developing a control strategy for bluetongue. Veterinary Record 151(18): 518.

Anon. 2003. On alert for bluetongue. Veterinary Record 152(2): 30-31.

Anon. 2003. Bluetongue order introduced. Veterinary Record 152(9): 247.

Aquino, V.H., Moreli, M.L. and L.T.M. Figueiredo. 2003. Analysis of oropouche virus L protein amino acid
    sequence showed the presence of an additional conserved region that could harbour an important role for the
    polymerase activity. Archives of Virology 148(1): 19-28.

Aradaib, I.E., Smith, W.L., Osburn, B.I. and J.S. Cullor. 2003. A multiplex PCR for simultaneous detection and
    differentiation of North American serotypes of bluetongue and epizootic hemorrhagic disease viruses. Comparative
    Immunology Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 26(2): 77-87.

Balisheva, V. I., Slivko, V. V. and V.I. Zhesterev. 2002. Bluetongue virus cultivation in animal cell cultures. Doklady
    Rossiiskoi Akademii Sel'skokhozyaistvennykh Nauk 6: 46-48.

Bhalodiya, M.B. and M.K. Jhala. 2002. Seroepidemiological study of bluetongue virus using AB-ELISA. Indian
    Veterinary Journal 79(12): 1237-1240.

Bregani, E.R., Ceraldi, T., Rovellini, A. and C. Ghiringhelli. 2002. Case report: intraocular localization of
    Mansonella perstans in a patient from south Chad. Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine
    and Hygiene 96(6): 654.

Chandel, B.S., Chauhan, H.C. and H.N. Kher. 2003. Comparison of the standard AGID test and competitive ELISA
    for detecting bluetongue virus antibodies in camels in Gujarat, India. Tropical Animal Health and Production 35(2):
    99-104.

Delecolle, J.-C. ans S. de La Rocque. 2002. Contribution to the study of the Culicoides of Corsica. Liste of the
    recensed species in 2000/2001 and redescription of the major vector of the catarrhal ovine fever: C. imicola Kieffer,
    1913 (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae). Bulletin de la Societe Entomologique de France 107(4): 371-379.

Dunbar M.R, Tornquist S. and M.R. Giordano. 2003. Blood parasites in sage-grouse from Nevada and Oregon.
     Journal of  Wildlife Diseases 39(1):203-208. [mentions Leucocytozoon lovati (= L. bonasae), ed.]

Garvin, M.C. and E.C. Greiner. 2003.  Ecology of Culicoides (Diptera : Ceratopogonidae) in southcentral Florida
    and experimental Culicoides vectors of the avian hematozoan Haemoproteus danilewskyi Kruse. Journal of
    Wildlife Diseases 39(1): 170-178.

Gaydos, J.K., Davidson, W.R., Elvinger, F., Mead, D.G., Howerth, E.W. and D.E. Stallknecht. 2002. Innate
    resistance to epizootic hemorrhagic disease in white-tailed deer. Journal of Wildlife Diseases 38(4): 713-719.

Gaydos, J.K. Davidson, W.R., Elvinger, F., Howerth, E.W., Murphy, M. and D.E. Stallknecht. 2002.
    Cross-protection between epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus serotypes 1 and 2 in white-tailed deer. Journal of
    Wildlife Diseases 38(4): 720-728.

Lundervold, M., Milner-Gulland, E.J., O'Callaghan, C.J. and C. Hamblin. 2003. First evidence of bluetongue
    virus in Kazakhstan. Veterinary Microbiology 92(3): 281-287.

Malik, Y., Prasad, G., Minakshi and S. Maan. 2001. Polymerase chain reaction and non radio labelled DNA probe
    for detection of bluetongue viruses. Indian Journal of Animal Sciences 71(5): 405-409.

Morris D.O. and S. Lindborg. 2003. Determination of 'irritant' threshold concentrations for intradermal testing with
    allergenic insect extracts in normal horses. Veterinary Dermatology 14(1):31-36.

O'Neill, W., McKee, S. and A.F. Clarke. 2002. Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum) supplementation associated with
    reduced skin test lesional area in horses with Culicoides hypersensitivity. Canadian Journal of Veterinary
    Research-Revue Canadienne de Recherche Veterinaire 66(4): 272-277.

O'Toole, D., de Leon, A.A.P., Hearne, C., McHolland, L., Yun, L. and W. Tabachnick. 2003. Papular
    dermatitis induced in guinea pigs by the biting midge Culicoides sonorensis (Diptera : Ceratopogonidae). Journal
    of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation 15(1): 67-71.

Savini, G., Goffredo, M., Monaco, F., de Santis, P. and R. Meiswinkel. 2003. Transmission of bluetongue virus
    in Italy. Veterinary Record 152(4): 119.

Takamatsu, H., Mellor, P.S., Mertens, P.P.C., Kirkham, P.A., Burroughs, J.N. and R.M.E. Parkhouse. 2003.
    A possible overwintering mechanism for bluetongue virus in the absence of the insect vector. Journal of General
    Virology 84(1): 227-235.

van Niekerk, M., Freeman, M., Paweska, J.T., Howell, P.G., Guthrie, A.J., Potgieter, A.C., van Staden, V. and H.
    Huismans. 2003. Variation in the NS3 gene and protein in South African isolates of bluetongue and equine encephalosis
    viruses. Journal of General Virology 84(3): 581-590.

Venter, G.J., Groenewald, D., Venter, E., Hermanides, K.G. and P.G. Howell. 2002. A comparison of the vector
    competence of the biting midges, Culicoides (Avaritia) bolitinos and C. (A.) imicola, for the Bryanston serotype of
    equine encephalosis virus. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 16(4): 372-377.

Wanji, S., Tendongfor, N., Esum, M., Ndindeng, S. and P. Enyong. 2003. Epidemiology of concomitant infections
    due to Loa loa, Mansonella perstans and Onchocerca volvulus in rain forest villages of Cameroon. Medical
    Microbiology and Immunology 192(1): 15-21.

Go to a Clickable List of Other CIE issues

Go to the CIE Homepage