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 should contact -
 

Dr. C. Steven Murphree  Department of Biology Belmont University 1900 Belmont Boulevard  Nashville, TN 37212-3757 U.S.A.

e-mail: murphrees@mail.belmont.edu Phone: 615-460-6221  Fax: 615-460-5458

 

Dear Ceratopogonid Colleagues,

I want to express my thanks to each subscriber who contacted me with comments/suggestions after receiving No. 66. I would appreciate your feedback regarding my division of the Recent Literature Section of this issue into three divisions. Thanks also to the 13 subscribers who indicated that they were willing to receive future CIE issues as e-mail attachments or by e-mail notification that issues have been uploaded to the CIE web pages. If other subscribers are willing to join this group please let me know as this is a way of reducing the costs of photocopying and mailing CIE issues. You may recall that my Department Chair and Dean agreed only to fund the first two issues (Nos. 66 & 67). While cost-cutting measures are beginning to work, I will need to receive continued donations (see below) in order to successfully maintain CIE. Please know that my goal is to manage CIE without limiting its availability to subscribers.

One colleague who has been a CIE subscriber since its beginning sent in an unsolicited donation towards the production of future CIE issues. This is greatly appreciated and I would welcome other such donations of any amount towards supplementing and eventually covering the costs of producing CIE. This issue is larger than will usually be the case due to the inclusion of a section dedicated to our colleague, Botha de Meillon, who died in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, December 6, 2000 at age 98.

Thank you for your patience regarding the CIE web site transition from Georgia Southern University to Belmont University. While most of this work has been completed, a few links still need to be re-routed. Please send your suggestions for how we can improve our web site. Recently, I had a request for digital images of ceratopogonids and I would like to create a ceratopogonid photo gallery on our web site. Please send any digital images or slides which I can scan and return when it is convenient.

Steve Murphree, Nashville

Announcements

Information Regarding the NADS/BFW Meeting at Sul Ross University, Alpine, Texas, June 1-4, 2001.

Alpine residents usually use the Midland/Odessa Airport, about a 2.5 hour drive from Alpine. From Midland we can share rental vehicles to drive to Alpine. El Paso is also an option. Check-in during the afternoon at Warnock Science Building, Room 104, Sul Ross University.

Dormitory rooms are $10/night for a shared room with 2 single beds; $20/night for single occupancy. You must provide your own linens and towels. We have reserved 20 rooms, first come, first served. Lynn Graff is the housing coordinator (915-837-8190). Make your reservation through Frank French (912-681-2159). Alternate billeting can be obtained at local motels. I suggest the Alpine Classic Inn (Best Western) (915-837-1530).

Our site host, Dr. Diane Wood, has obtained permission with the local Nature Conservancy personnel for permission to collect with traps, etc. on a very large tract in the Davis Mountains (former domain of the "Republic of Texas"), provided that we supply fauna lists and reprints of publications resulting from these collections.

Jim Goodwin has arranged for permits for the Davis Mountains State Park and Big Bend Ranch State Natural Area (BBRSNA). Individuals driving who wish to collect at other state parks can get permits by e-mail from David Riskind. Goodwin (james.goodwin3@gte.net) has his e-mail address. A list of additional collecting sites will be provided at your check-in at Sul Ross University. The mountains will still have early to mid-spring weather with the lower elevations much warmer and drier. We should be able to sample a variety of habitats in the Trans-Pecos Texas/northern Chihuahuan Desert Region. See the web page of Sul Ross University (www.sulross.edu/~biology/) and your handy Texas road map.

Bring headgear for sun, sun-bloc, some long-sleeved shirts, and forget your rain gear. We will meet in a laboratory for specimen preparation, discussion and presentations. A slide projector and a few dissecting scopes will be available.

Name ____________________________

Street or P.O. Box _________________________________

City, State, Zip Code, Country _________________________________

Telephone no._______________________

 e-mail address _________________________

Do you plan to arrive prior to June 1?

__ yes, __ no.

Registration: $20.00

Dormitory ($10/night) _______

Dormitory ($20/night) _______

Total $_______

Remit to:

Frank E. French – french@gasou.edu
Professor of Biology
Georgia Southern University
P.O. Box 8042
Statesboro, GA 30460-8042
(912) 681-2159

Publication of W.W.(Bill) Wirth Obituary, Publications List and List of all Names Proposed by Bill Wirth

The latest issue of Myia (Volume 6), published by Paul Arnaud, contains the following papers about the life of Bill Wirth:

1.    Willis Wagner Wirth (1916-1994), by Paul H. Arnaud, Jr. pp. 41-50 + 20 pictures.
        (A nice biography of Bill Wirth’s life-ed.).

2.    Entomological Bibliography (1942-1997) of Willis Wagner Wirth (1916-1994), by Paul H. Arnaud, Jr. and Madeline
        M. Arnaud. pp. 51-78.
        (The most up-to-date listing of Bill's 417 publications-ed.).

3.    Names of Diptera (Insecta) published by Willis Wagner Wirth, by Paul H. Arnaud, Jr. and Madeline M. Arnaud.
        pp. 79-168.
        (A list (by genus) of 1,377 taxonomic names in 11 dipteran families proposed by Wirth and Wirth and   colleagues. This list contains 4 family group names, 76 genus group names and 1,297 species group names. The authors point out that Wirth and colleagues proposed some 20% of all species of Ceratopogonidae-ed.).

Address Changes

Dr. Art Borkent,
1171 Mallory Road,
Enderby, British Columbia, (rural route code no longer needed)
V0E 1V3, Canada. (new zip code)
Telephone: (250) 833-0931
FAX: (250) 832-2146
Email: aborkent@jetstream.net

Memories of Botha de Meillon (1902-2000)

by William L. Grogan, Jr. wlgrogan@ssu.edu

Salisbury State University, Salisbury, Maryland

I met Botha for the first time during the 1976 International Congress of Entomology held in August in Washington, D. C. I was nearing completion of my Ph.D. then at the University of Maryland under the direction of Don Messersmith and Willis Wirth. Dr. Wirth introduced me to Botha at one of the biting fly sessions during the Congress along with Jean Clastrier, John Boorman, John Linley, Michel Kremer and Christian Raccurt as well as many more foreign ceratopogonid workers. I was already very familiar with Botha's early work on African biting midges as I had spent many enjoyable hours reading his contributions on taxonomy of this group during the 1930's, '40's and '50's. So, it was a great honor for me then to be invited to dinner with Dr. Wirth and Botha following that first afternoon session. Here, I first began to realize that not only had Botha made important and lasting contributions to biting midge taxonomy, but that he had also worked on mosquitoes, black flies and other insects of medical importance during his long tenure with the South African Institute for Medical Research in Johannesburg, South Africa. During this Congress and the Post-Congress session held at Mountain Lake Biological Station near Blacksburg, Virginia, I became even more acquainted with Botha and several other foreign and domestic biting midge specialists. This is one of the most memorable experiences of my life and I shall always treasure the friendly discussions and life-long friendships with so many of my colleagues that began during these important meetings that affected my life so much.

The next time I saw Botha was in Dr. Wirth’s office at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. during the early 1980's. Botha was visiting with Bill as part of their collaboration leading to a series of 15 papers that they co-authored on Subsaharan Ceratopogonidae from 1979 to 1991. These papers are listed in the paper on Botha's work on biting midges by Bill Wirth (1993) in Botha's Festschrift, which is reprinted herein.

I became even closer to Botha in 1985 when he attended the 1985 Biting Fly Workshop that I hosted that year at my institution, Salisbury State University (then College) in Salisbury, Maryland. I had the good fortune of introducing Botha to the some 40 scientists in attendance as the "oldest biting fly worker in the world and the oldest person at this Workshop" (Botha was "only" 83 then). A few in the audience questioned as to whether Botha was actually the oldest scientist at the Workshop that June and suggested that G. B. (Sandy) Fairchild (an important tabanid taxonomist, recently deceased) might actually be older. A few minutes of discussion between the two Grand Old Men confirmed that I was indeed correct, after which both of these fine gentlemen received a standing ovation from the audience.

It was during the 1985 BFW that Botha and I had some discussions that lead to our collaboration on two papers:

One final thanks to Maureen Coetzee for allowing Bill Wirth's contribution to Botha's Festschrift (edited by Maureen) that is reprinted in this CIE issue. Maureen has asked to announce that copies of Botha's Festschrift are still available for a nominal fee by writing her at:
 

Dr. Maureen Coetzee Dept. of Medical Entomology South African Institute for Medical Research P. O. Box 1038 Johannesburg 2000, South Africa

or by emailing her at: maureenc@mail.saimr.wits.ac.za

(Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Dr. Maureen Coetzee for allowing CIE to reproduce Bill Wirth’s contribution from "Entomologist Extraordinary, a Festschrift in Honour of Botha de Meillon". Thanks also to Bill Grogan for his work towards making this possible. Bill also co-authored a contribution to this festschrift with Bill Wirth entitled "A New Species of Brachypogon Kieffer from Zimbabwe (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)". There is a total of 12 scientific contributions, five personal recollections in this festschrift and both the curriculum vitae and a complete list of the publications of Botha de Meillon are included as appendices.)

The community of ceratopogonid workers takes great pleasure in extending tribute to Dr. Botha de Meillon and I offer this tribute with heartfelt respect, love and admiration. For over a period spanning nearly 40 years, Dr. de Meillon has been my teacher, friend and counselor.

De Meillon’s professional career began in 1926 at the South African Institute for Medical Research where he worked with Dr. A. Ingram, who had studied the biology and taxonomy of biting midges with H.F. Carter and J.W.S. Macfie at the Yellow Fever Research Laboratory in Accra, Ghana. De Meillon’s first paper on Ceratopogonidae appeared in 1929 on "Some Ceratopogonidae from the Transvaal." In 1936 and 1937 he published comprehensive works on the biting midges under the title "Entomological studies. Studies on insects of medical importance in South Africa." In the 64 years since 1929, De Meillon has published 43 papers on Ceratopogonidae, describing eight genera and subgenera, and 239 species.

My association with De Meillon began about 1950, shortly after I had joined the Insect Identification Unit of the US Department of Agriculture in the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C. De Meillon responded promptly and generously to my requests for his publications and this helped me immensely in getting started on a career of taxonomic study of the biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).

Shortly thereafter, I received some ceratopogonid specimens form Dr. Elwood Montgomery of Indiana University that were collected by a student from dragonflies in Senegal. In one lot taken in a net with a dragonfly were nine females which I identified as Forcipomyia (Pterobosca)mollipes Macfie, a common dragonfly parasite in West Africa. In this collection there was also one male which fitted the diagnosis of the predaceous midge genus Brachypogon. In correspondence with Paul Freeman of the British Museum, I learned that Montgomery had sent a similar lot of midges from dragonflies to Dr. Macfie, including a vial containing six female F. mollipes and one male of a new species of Brachypogon that Macfie had planned to describe as new shortly before his death. The specimens sent to Macfie had been collected at the same place just one day after the collection that I received.

As a neophyte in ceratopogonid taxonomy, I was quite excited about the possibility that these so-called Brachypogon males might be the hitherto undescribed male sex of Pterobosca. Species of Pterobosca had been described from all over the world, but the male had never been recognized. Because sexual dimorphism is so prevalent in the family Ceratopogonidae, and had caused so much trouble in the correct generic placement of males, I was determined to settle the true identity of these anomalous males. In addition, I thought it was exceedingly strange that on two succeeding days a male of Brachypogon had been collected in a net simultaneously with dragonflies parasitized by female Pterobosca..

I was never able to locate the Brachypogon male sent to the British Museum, but I sent the male in my possession to De Meillon in 1953 and he was able to distinguish it from the closely related Brachypogon corius (De Meillon & Hardy, 1954). We prepared a joint paper (De Meillon & Wirth, 1955) describing the new species as Brachypogon senegalensis, in which De Meillon executed his careful dissections and graphic illustrations of the two species, along with his usual short, concise and accurate taxonomic description.; This marked the beginning of my long and productive taxonomic collaboration with De Meillon, in which I was happy to serve as student and he as master and teacher, as association that happily lasted until this day.

I might add, parenthetically, that the peculiar circumstances of collection of this male Brachypogon was never mentioned in print, probably because it was regarded as fortuitous and without scientific merit. But sometimes I wonder if, if fact, there is a causal (rather than casual) relationship between females of Pterobosca mollipes and the males of Brachypogon senegalensis. Nevertheless, this was the riddle that prompted my long friendship and collaboration with Botha de Meillon.

Unfortunately for me, De Meillon left the South African Institute for Medical Research in 1960 and spent the next six years working for the World Health Organization, first in Brazzaville, Congo, then in Geneva, and then in Rangoon, Burma, as scientific advisor and administrator of their programmes on filariasis and other tropical diseases. He had no time or opportunity for ceratopogonid research while with WHO. I was overjoyed when, in 1965, he came to Washington as Principal Investigator of the Smithsonian Institution - Walter Reed Army Institute of Medical Research, Southeast Asia Mosquito Project. I met De Meillon and his wonderful wife Petie in person, and we enjoyed many opportunities for close personal and social contact. These contacts continued until 1973, when De Meillon retired and he and Petie returned to their farm in Tzaneen, N Transvaal.

Retirement inevitably brought about another phase in De Meillon’s active and productive life, and a return to ceratopogonid research. With a little encouragement from me, he began collecting and rearing ceratopogonids on his farm, and before long he was back in the Entomology Laboratory in Tzaneen, studying the biting midges that he had so long neglected. By this time I had the experience and taxonomic facilities to render real help and encouragement to De Meillon’s midge research and we began a taxonomic collaboration which lasted for 12 years and contributed to 15 publications.

The De Meillons left Tzaneen in 1976 to live with their daughter in Elkins Park, a suburb of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This afforded me the opportunity for closer personal and entomological contact with De Meillon, and in October of that year he became, like me, a Co-operating Scientist of the Systematic Entomology Laboratory of the US Department of Agriculture. We were able to equip a large attic room in his daughter’s house with microscopes, technical equipment and supplies, and to supplement his library and midge collection. Descriptions and manuscripts poured out of his laboratory at an amazing rate and almost overwhelmed available publication space in the American and South African entomological journals. Periodically De Meillon would come to Washington for consultation and for more specimens and supplies, and periodically my wife, Mabel, and I would journey to Philadelphia to visit the De Meillons and their daughter’s family. On the occasion of the International Congress of Entomology meetings in Washington in July, 1976, we invited Botha to serve as Honorary Chairman of a symposium on "Systematics and Biology of Ceratopogonidae." After the Congress, most of the participants in the Symposium travelled to the Mountain Lake Biological Station in the Allegheny Mountains near Blacksburg, Virginia, for a week-long workshop on Ceratopogonidae. Thirty-five ceratopogonid workers from seven countries enjoyed close social contact and scientific interchange with De Meillon, with many lasting benefits. This symposium and workshop were such a success and generated so much enthusiasm that similar workshops were scheduled in Warsaw in 1978, London in 1980, Strasbourg in 1982, Hamburg in 1984, Budapest in 1986 and Vancouver in 1988, often in conjunction with the International Congress of Entomology.

Botha de Meillon is famous for his keen scientific mind, his adherence to the strictest protocols and principles, his intense loyalty to his close friends and associates, his unselfish love of friends and family, and his intolerance for sham, deceit, and incompetence. The following anecdote illustrates some of Botha’s characteristics. In the early days, De Meillon followed British custom and most scientific usage in calling the biogeographic region comprising most of Africa, the "Ethiopian Region." This usage seemed inappropriate and caused much criticism because a large part of Ethiopia, from which the region took its name, was Palaearctic. Then for many years, De Meillon and many other workers, began using the term "Subsaharan Region," and in fact this term survives today in many geographic and general works dealing with Africa. Then, for various reasons, "Subsaharan" was also deemed inappropriate and the term "Afrotropical" was introduced. The "Catalogue of the Diptera of the Afrotropical Region" set a precedent widely followed by most dipterists, but De Meillon steadfastly insisted on retaining "Subsaharan", and was successful with most editors until finally, in De Meillon & Wirth (1991) a change to "Afrotropical" was the price he had to pay for his last monographic work on Ceratopogonidae. At 89 years of age, this price seemed a little dear for such a man.

As documentation to De Meillon’s monumental contribution to ceratopogonid research, I append lists of the eight genera and subgenera and the 239 species of Ceratopogonidae described by De Meillon and associates, in 43 publications.

GENERA AND SUBGENERA OF CERATOPOGONIDAE DESCRIBED BY BOTHA DE MEILLON

Ankylohelea De Meillon & Wirth, 1987b: 384.

Capehelea De Meillon & Wirth, 1987b: 384.

Fanthamia De Meillon, 1939c: 103.

Kolenohelea De Meillon & Wirth, 1981a: 513.

Luciamyia De Meillon, 1937a: 380.

Notoceratopogon De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 157.

Pedilohelea De Meillon & Wirth, 1980: 9.

Rhinohelea De Meillon & Wirth, 1979d: 881.

SPECIES OF CERATOPOGONIDAE DESCRIBED BY BOTHA DE MEILLON

abditus De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 46, Fanthamia.
acastus De Meillon, 1947: 118, Culicoides, Synonym of zuluensis De Meillon.
adulator De Meillon, 1939c: 104, Fanthamia.
advena (De Meillon), 1959a: 341 (Ceratopogon) Brachypogon.
agathae De Meillon, 1940: 455, Bezzia. Synonym of nyasae (Macfie).
agathae De Meillon & Wirth, 1983b: 388, Serromyia.
aitkeni De Meillon & Wirth, 1980: 12, Forcipomyia.
albidorsata (De Meillon), 1937a: 368, (Dicrohelea) Johannsenomyia.
albitudinis De Meillon & Wirth, 1981b: 543, Homohelea.
alcides (De Meillon & Hardy), 1954: 74 (Ceratopogon) Notoceratopogon.
alexis De Meillon, 1936: 147, Culicoides, Synonym of pycnostictus Ingram & Macfie.
amana De Meillon & Wirth, 1981b: 543, Bezzia.
amaniensis De Meillon, in Wirth et al., 1980: 168, N. name for Stilobezzia monticola De Meillon, Stilobezzia.
aniculae De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 167, Fanthamia.
anna De Meillon, 1959a: 331, Forcipomyia.
archboldi De Meillon & Wirth, 1980: 13, Forcipomyia.
arcis De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 143, Forcipomyia.
armigera De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 177, Palpomyia.
atra De Meillon & Wirth, 1989b: 213, Dasyhelea.
aukurabis De Meillon & Wirth, 1983a: 371, Mallochohelea.
babrius De Meillon, 1943: 112, Culicoides, Synonym of tropicalis Kieffer.
bata De Meillon & Hardy, 1954: 62, Stilobezzia.
bayeri (De Meillon), 1937a: 351 (Macroptilum) Macropeza.
belkini De Meillon & Wirth, 1979e: 198, Forcipomyia.
belligera (De Meillon), 1940: 459, (Dicrobezzia) Nilobezzia.
bergensis (De Meillon & Hardy), 1953: 26, (Ceratopogon) Brachypogon.
bimater (De Meillon & Hardy), 1953: 25, (Ceratopogon) Calcarhelea.
briani De Meillon, 1961: 45, Atrichopogon.
briani De Meillon & Wirth, 1979d: 884,Forcipomyia.
brinchangensis De Meillon & Wirth, 1980: 14, Forcipomyia.
brincki De Meillon, 1959a: 328, Forcipomyia.
brunnea De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 151, Forcipomyia.
bwambanus De Meillon, 1952: 173, Culicoides.
campanula De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 142, Forcipomyia.
capensis (De Meillon & Hardy), 1954: 67 (Parabezzia) Afrohelea.
capensis De Meillon & Hardy, 1953: 24, Leptoconops.
capensis De Meillon & Hardy, 1954: 70, Nilobezzia. Synonym of robusta De Meillon.
cardinis De Meillon & Wirth, 1979c: 194,Fanthamia.
carina (De Meillon & Hardy), 1953: 28 (Ceratopogon) Fanthamia.
cinnae De Meillon, 1936: 185, Phaenobezzia.
claudia De Meillon, 1942c: 92, Alluaudomyia.
cobra De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 41 Alluaudomyia.
consortis De Meillon & Wirth, 1989b: 212, Forcipomyia.
corea De Meillon, 1942b: 116, Jenkinshelea.
corius (De Meillon & Hardy) 1954: 69 (Ceratopogon) Brachypogon.
cornutus De Meillon, 1937a: 332, Culicoides.
creesi De Meillon, Meiswinkel & Wirth, 1982: 123, Forcipomyia.
crossi De Meillon & Wirth, 1981c: 591, Stilobezzia.
delanoe (De Meillon), 1942b: 113 (Palpomyia) Homohelea.
diabolus (De Meillon), 1961: 52 (Sphaeromias), Homohelea.
diazi De Meillon, 1961: 55, Tetrabezzia.
differens De Meillon, 1960: 406, Stilobezzia.
distincta De Meillon& Wirth, 1983a: 367, Jenkinshelea.
divergens De Meillon, 1959b: 22, Dasyhelea.
dixi De Meillon, 1936: 141, Leptoconops.
dominicana De Meillon & Wirth, 1979e, 195, Forcipomyia.
draconis De Meillon & Wirth, 1980: 17, Forcipomyia.
draconis De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 170, Fanthamia.
dutoiti De Meillon, 1943: 100, Culicoides.
dycei De Meillon & Wirth, 1981a: 517, Kolenohelea.
edwardsi De Meillon, 1938: 268, Bezzia.
elegans De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 36, Forcipomyia.
engubandei De Meillon, 1937a: 337, Culicoides.
equilus De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a, 48, Kolenohelea.
errinae (De Meillon) 1940: 461, (Palpomyia) Mallochohelea.
eshowensis De Meillon, 1937a: 361, Forcipomyia.
eugenei De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 62, Sphaeromyias.
falcata De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 152, Dasyhelea.
falcis De Meillon & Wirth, 1981c: 571, Atrichopogon.
fenerivensis De Meillon, 1961: 48, Dasyhelea.
flavicorporis De Meillon, 1939a: 22, Bezzia.
flavida De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 56, Stilobezzia.
fluminea De Meillon & Wirth, 1981b: 550, Mallochohelea.
fluviatilis (De Meillon), 1940: 463, (Macroptilum) Macropeza.
fontana De Meillon & Wirth, 1981b: 533, Dasyhelea.
forcipis De Meillon & Wirth 1980: 18, Forcipomyia.
forficata De Meillon & Wirth, 1989b: 215, Dasyhelea.
forsteri De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 169, Fanthamia.
fulva De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 176, Stilobezzia.
furcipes De Meillon, 1960: 404, Stilobezzia.
furcula De Meillon & Wirth, 1989b: 216, Dasyhelea.
furfura De Meillon & Wirth, 1989b: 205, Forcipomyia.
fusca De Meillon, 1938: 266, Palpomyia
galatea De Meillon, 1942b: 23, Xenohelea.
gideoni De Meillon & Wirth, 1981c: 595, Dibezzia.
gigantosalpinx De Meillon. 1937a: 371, Dasyhelea.
gilva De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 67, Palpomyia.
gokwe De Meillon & Wirth, 1989b: 209, Forcipomyia.
grobleri De Meillon & Wirth, 1981c: 575, Brachypogon.
guttata De Meillon & Wirth, 1989b: 204, Forcipomyia.
hamata De Meillon & Wirth, 1989b: Dasyhelea.
hamoni De Meillon, 1959a: 329, Forcipomyia.
hamiltoni De Meillon & Wirth, 1981e: 576, Brachypogon.
hansfordi De Meillon & Wirth, 1983a: 372, Mallochohelea.
harbelensis De Meillon, 1960: 409, Echinohelea.
haroldi De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 66, Bezzia.
haroldi De Meillon & Wirth, 1989b: 208, Forcipomyia.
harrisoni De Meillon & Hardy, 1953: 22, Leptoconops.
hastata De Meillon & Wirth, 1981e: 565, Forcipomyia.
helion De Meillon, 1936: 177, Atrichopogon. Synonym of hirsutipennis Ingram & Macfie.
hesiones De Meillon, 1936: 167, Forcipomyia.
hirtius De Meillon & Lavoipierre, 1944: 38, Culicoides. Synonym of brucei Austen.
hopkinsi De Meillon & Hardy, 1954: 62, Bezzia. Synonym of africana Ingram & Macfie.
hunyani De Meillon, 1943: 111, Nilobezzia.
imperfecta De Meillon & Wirth, 1989b: 217, Dasyhelea.
insperata De Meillon & Wirth, 1981c: 592, Clinohelea.
inusitata De Meillon & Wirth, 1981e: 586, Kolenohelea.
iphias De Meillon, 1936: 169, Forcipomyia. Synonym of striaticornis Kieffer.
irrita (De Meillon), 1937a: 383, (Monohelea). Synonym of Luciamyia biloba De Meillon.
jarmilae De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 172, Kolenohelea.
jonkeri De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 48. Fanthamia.
joycei De Meillon, 1936: 193, Dasyhelea.
kabashae De Meillon, 1959a: 333, Forcipomyia. Synonym of monilicornis (Coquillett).
kama (De Meillon), 1959a: 340, (Ceratopogon), Brachypogon.
khoisana, De Meillon & Wirth, 1979d: 885, Forcipomyia.
krugeri De Meillon & Wirth, 1981c: 578, Brachypogon.
kurwana De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 69, Palpomyia.
larundae De Meillon, 1936: 195, Dasyhelea.
lemuria De Meillon, 1961: 7, Forcipomyia.
leonina De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 50, Kolenohelea.
leporis De Meillon & Wirth, 1981c: 572, Dasyhelea.
letabanus, De Meillon, Meiswinkel & Wirth, 1982: 125, Forcipomyia.
lecordeurorum De Meillon, Meiswinkel & Wirth, 1982: 132, Forcipomyia.
libanius (De Meillon), 1943: 104, (Ceratopogon), Alluaudomyia.
louisi De Meillon & Wirth 1981b: 535, Allauadomyia.
luaboensis (De Meillon), 1959b: 3, (Johannsenomyia), Mallochohelea.
lucida (De Meillon), 1939a: 24, Bezzia.
maculosa De Meillon, 1936: 172, Alluaudomyia.
madagascarensis De Meillon, 1961: 40, Culicoides.
magali De Meillon & Wirth 1981b: 557, Palpomyia.
magoebai De Meillon, Meiswinkel & Wirth, 1982: 134, Alluaudomyia.
makonde De Meillon & Wirth, 1983a: 363, (Monohelea) Allohelea.
matubae De Meillon, 1937a: 375, Dasyhelea.
maureenae (De Meillon & Wirth), 1987a: 53, (Monohelea) Allohelea.
meeserellus De Meillon, 1936: 151, Culicoides. Synonym of pycnostictus Ingram & Macfie.
meeseri (De Meillon), 1936: 204, (Macroptilum). Synonmy of Macropeza aethiopicum (Ingram & Macfie).
meeseri (De Meillon), 1959b: 16, (Monohelea), Allohelea.
meeseri De Meillon, 1942c: 95, Sphaeromias.
meeseri (De Meillon & Hardy), 1954: 74, (Ceratopogon), Alluaudomyia.
meiswinkeli De Meillon & Wirth, 1983b: 390, Serromyia.
melia De Meillon, 1943: 112, Homohelea.
mennoi De Meillon & Wirth, 1981c: 582, Fanthamia.
milleri De Meillon & Wirth, 1981a: 521, Kolenohelea.
mimas (De Meillon), 1939a: 13 (Monohelea), Allohelea.
minutus De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 161, Notoceratopogon.
mira De Meillon & Wirth, 1981c: 583, Kolenohelea.
mirabunda De Meillon & Wirth, 1981a: 522, Kolenohelea.
mirifica De Meillon & Wirth, 1981a: 519, Kolenohelea.
mocambicana De Meillon, 1943: 9, Dasyhelea.
montana De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 167, Fanthamia.
montana De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 147, Forcipomyia.
montana De Meillon & Wirth, 1987b: 384, Ankylohelea.
monticola De Meillon, 1960: 403, Stilobezzia. Primary homonym of Stilobezzia monticola Tokunaga, 1940. Synonym of amaniensis De Meillon.
monticola De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 174, Kolenohelea.
mopsus De Meillon & Hardy, 1954: 71, Forcipomyia.
nama De Meillon & Wirth, 1981a: 42, Bothahelea.
natalensis De Meillon, 1939b: 14, Forcipomyia.
natalensis (De Meillon), 1937a: 378, (Ceratopogon), Notoceratopogon.
natalensis (De Meillon), 1937a: 355, (Macroptilum), Macropeza.
natalensis De Meillon, 1939a: 20, Stilobezzia.
natalia (De Meillon), 1936: 158, (Lasiohelea), Synonym of Forcipomyia bacoti (Ingram & Macfie).
nicator De Meillon, 1959b: 18, Bezzia.
nicolayi De Meillon, 1937a: 330, Leptoconops.
nigithorax De Meillon, 1929: 248, Palpomyia.
nivosus De Meillon, 1937a: 341, Culicoides.
obscura De Meillon & Wirth, 1981c: 588 (Parabezzia).
oliffi De Meillon & Hardy, 1954: 72, Palpomyia.
orientis De Meillon & Wirth, 1981b: 541, Stilobezzia.
ornatipennis (De Meillon), 1939c: 106, (Ceratopogon), Fanthamia.
pauliani De Meillon, 1961: 57, Stilobezzia.
pedi De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 50, Kolenohelea.
phrixius De Meillon, 1943: 105, Atrichopogon. Synonym of luteicollis (Becker).
polyxenae De Meillon, 1936: 189, Jenkinshelea.
probata (De Meillon), 1937a: 349 (Bezzia) Phaenobezzia.
pugilator De Meillon &Wirth, 1987a: 52, Kolenohelea.
randensis De Meillon, 1931: 335, Forcipomyia.
raposoi De Meillon & Wirth, 1980: 21, Forcipomyia.
ravus De Meillon, 1936: 151, Culicoides.
rhodesiensis De Meillon, 1927b: 261, Jenkinshelea.
robusta (De Meillon), 1937a: 346, (Bezzia), Nilobezzia.
roseae De Meillon, Meiswinkel & Wirth, 1982: 129, Forcipomyia.
rudebecki De Meillon, 1959a: 330, Forcipomyia.
rudolfi De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 171, Aluaudomyia.
salanaria De Meillon & Wirth, 1981b: 530, Dasyhelea
salisburiensis De Meillon, 1959a: 337, Atrichopogon.
salta De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 155, Dasyhelea.
sambulena (De Meillon), 1942a: 14, Pellucidomyia.
sanctaeluciae (De Meillon), 1937a: 365, (Palpomyia), Mallochohelea.
sani De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 168, Fanthamia.
senegalensis (De Meillon & Wirth), 1955: 275, (Ceratopogon) Brachypogon.
servillea De Meillon, 1943: 25, Sphaeromias. Synonym of par Ingram & Macfie.
sibayae (De Meillon), 1936: 183, (Bezzia) Macropeza.
sidis (De Meillon), 1959b: 5, (Johannsenomyia) Mallochohelea.
singularis De Meillon, 1937a: 362, Palpomyia.
siricis (De Meillon), 1961: 50 (Sphaeromias) Mallochohelea.
sitius De Meillon, 1959a: 345, Brachypogon.
soeiroi (De Meillon), 1942a: 16 (Bezzia) Tetrabezzia.
sorana De Meillon, 1943: 103, Forcipomyia.
soutini De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 38, Dasyhelea.
spangleri De Meillon & Wirth, 1980: 21, Forcipomyia.
spilmani De Meillon & Wirth, 1980: 22, Forcipomyia.
stagni De Meillon & Wirth, 1981b: 538, Parabezzia.
statirae De Meillon, 1936: 165, Forcipomyia.
steli De Meillon & Wirth, 1987b: 388, Capehelea.
stewarti De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 149, Forcipomyia.
stuckenbergi (De Meillon), 1961: 51, (Sphaeromias) Homohelea.
stuckenbergi De Meillon & Wirth, 1983b: 398, Serromyia.
sudwalai De Meillon & Wirth, 1983a: 369, Jenkinshelea.
thabinana De Meillon, 1959b: 6, Forcipomyia.
theileri De Meillon & Wirth, 1981b: 552, Sphaeromias.
tokwensis De Meillon, 1942c: 97, Culicoides. Synonym of ravus De Meillon.
transvaalensis De Meillon, 1947: 119, Allauadomyia.
transvaalensis De Meillon, 1959a: 335, Dasyhelea.
trichopis De Meillon, 1937a: 328, Culicoides. Synonym of grahamii Austen.
trimaculata De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 57, Stilobezzia.
tugelensis De Meillon, 1959a: 333, Forcipomyia.
tzaneenensis De Meillon & Wirth, 1979e: 184, Forcipomyia.
umialazia De Meillon, 1940: 457, Bezzia.
unca De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 61, Mallochohelea.
upsilon De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 39, Dasyhelea.
usheri De Meillon, 1959b: 20, Clinohelea.
uysorum De Meillon, Meiswinkel & Wirth, 1982: 138, Kolenohelea.
vacunae (De Meillon), 1936: 180, (Bezzia) Phaenobezzia.
verna De Meillon & Wirth, 1987a: 70, Palpomyia.
vesicula De Meillon & Wirth, 1983a: 350, Forcipomyia.
victoriae De Meillon, 1942e: 96, Atrichopogon.
vockerothi De Meillon & Downes, 1986: 162, Notoceratopogon.
voltana De Meillon, 1959b: 15, Echinohelea.
vudu De Meillon & Hardy, 1954: 65, Alluaudomyia.
waldenia De Meillon, 1940: 464, Forcipomyia.
wansoni De Meillon, 1939b: 10, Alluaudomyia.
wansoni De Meillon, 1939a: 9, Forcipomyia.
watshami De Meillon & Wirth, 1989b: 210, Forcipomyia.
zuluensis De Meillon, 1936: 145, Culicoides. Synonym of milnei Austen.
zuluensis De Meillon & Wirth, 1981c: 589, Serromyia.
zumpti De Meillon & Wirth, 1979e: 182, Mackerrasomyia.

Contributions from Ceratopogonid Scientists

___________________________________________________________________________

Contribution from John Boorman midge@culicoides.freeserve.co.uk

6, Beckingham Road, Guildford, Surrey GU2 8BN, U.K.

I have recently been sorting through some old light trap catches from Nigeria for Ceratopogonidae; one lot from Ibadan yielded several interesting species including a number of female Jenkinshelea. These were new to me and I made some notes of the Afrotropical species; I pass these on in the hope that they may be of interest to someone. Borkent & Wirth (1997) list twenty species worldwide, of these eight are from the Afrotropical region. They are characterised by a very large angular anal lobe on the wing. The males seem to have (usually) one radial cell, the females two (usually).

The known Afrotropical species are:

accraensis (as Jenkinsia) Ingram and Macfie 1923: 41. Notes on some African Ceratopogoninae. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 14: 41-74. Type locality, Ghana.

corea de Meillon 1942: 116. Ceratopogonidae (Dipt. Nematocera) from Southern Rhodesia. Proceedings and Transactions of the Rhodesian Scientific Association, 39: 113-119. Type locality, Zimbabwe.

djalonensis Clastrier 1983: 261. Description de trois nouvelles especes Afrotropicales de Ceratopogonidae (Dipt., Nematocera) revenant aux genres Jenkinshelea at Neosphaeromias. Annals de Societe entomologique de France (N.S.) 19: 261-272. Type locality, Guinea

distincta de Meillon & Wirth 1983: 367. Subsaharan Ceratopogonidae (Diptera) IX. New species and records from southern Africa. Annals of the Natal Museum, 25: 347-381. Type locality, South Africa.

polyxenae de Meillon 1936: 189. Entomological Studies. Studies on insects of medical importance in South Africa (part III). Publications of the South African Institute for Medical Research, 7: 125-215. Type locality, South Africa.

rhodesiensis de Meillon 1937: 261. A new Jenkinshelea from Southern Rhodesia. Annals of the South African Museum, 32: 261-263. Type locality, Zimbabwe.

sudwalai de Meillon & Wirth 1983: 369. Subsaharan Ceratopogonidae (Diptera) IX. New species and records from southern Africa. Annals of the Natal Museum, 25: 347-381. Type locality, South Africa.

trisensillata Clastrier 1983: 266. Description de trois nouvelles especes Afrotropicales de Ceratopogonidae (Dipt., Nematocera) revenant aux genres Jenkinshelea at Neosphaeromias. Annals de Societe entomologique de France (N.S.) 19: 261-272. Type locality, Guinea

My Ibadan specimens are unfortunately all females, but have only one radial cell. The only known Afrotropical species with one radial cell in the female is rhodesiensis, and the Ibadan specimens agree well with the description. So, although I have not seen the type (possibly in the South African Institute for Medical Research Collection) I assume that they belong to that species. Unless anyone out there knows differently!

The genus was named by Kieffer for a Monsieur J.T. Jenkins who collected "beaucoup de Chironomides dans les Indes". Does anyone know who Mr Jenkins was?

Another quite unrelated query. Both males and females of Forcipomyia (Caloforcipomyia) species have the fat body cells coloured with a very characteristic bright blue-green pigment. Has anyone any idea what this pigment is, or how it is derived? Why only this subgenus?

__________________________________________________________________

Contribution from Art Borkent aborkent@jetstream.net

Enderby, British Columbia

I recently published the following large paper which synthesizes and summarizes what we know about the evolutionary history of the biting midges:

Lebanese amber genera are analyzed within an evolutionary framework and these all form the very earliest lineages within the family. All known ceratopogonid fossil taxa from amber and compression deposits are placed on an evolutionary tree of the family and this confirms earlier suggestions that there is an excellent correspondence between phylogenetic (cladistic) patterns and the fossil record: successively earlier deposits contain only successively earlier lineages.

I was able to reconstruct some aspects of the community formed by the biting midges and the other organisms found with them in the amber by studying which fossils are found together in single pieces of amber (which may be thought of as small sticky traps). Results indicate that Lebanese amber ceratopogonids were present in a single community and were very diverse. Comparison with other amber deposits indicates that Saxonian, Baltic and Taimyr amber are probably comprised of a number of communities. Canadian amber ceratopogonids were likely less diverse but still relatively abundant. Dominican amber Ceratopogonidae are not as diverse as those in other ambers, likely reflecting their unique (compared to other amber deposits) island habitat.

A comparison of numbers of species in Lebanese amber with those from other amber deposits indicates that many more species await discovery. Dominican amber, with 32 recorded species, will likely produce only a few more taxa.

Study of the mouthparts of fossils and cladistic interpretation suggest that all early lineages of Ceratopogonidae probably fed on the blood of vertebrates. The evolution of feeding on the blood of other midges occurred between 88-122 million years ago (mya). The earliest record of the lineage in which adult females feed on the blood of insects much larger than themselves (Forcipomyiinae) is in Paleocene Sakhalin amber (57-65 mya). The first evidence of the lineage in which female ceratopogonids feed on males during copulation occurs in Oligocene/Eocene Baltic amber at 30-55 mya.

There is a also an exciting direct correlation between the diversification of Ceratopogonidae and major innovations in early angiosperm flowers, suggesting that there may have been an evolutionary relationship between these two groups.

_____________________________________________________

Contribution from Daniel V. Hagan dhagan@GaSoU.edu

Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia

The Norwegian Forest Research Institute, (Norsk Institut for Skogforskning = NISK), Bergen, Norway conducted a study to investigate the biodiversity in Norwegian forests. Samples of the arthropod fauna were collected using a pyrethroid fogger sampling technique in May, June and July 1998-99 at two sites: a Pinus sylvestris dominated boreal forest in eastern Norway (Sigdal, Buskerud, 9°25’ E, 60°03’ N) and a coastal Pinus sylvestris forest in western Norway (Kvam, Hordaland, 5°53’ E, 60°05’ N). Among the Diptera, midges of Ceratopogonidae were abundant. Our main objectives were to identify species of Ceratopogonidae present at two sites in eastern and western Norway, and to examine

Collaborators included: Daniel V. Hagan, Department of Biology, Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, GA 30460 USA; Ryszard Szadziewski, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, University of Gdansk, Pilsudskiego 46, 81-378 Gdynia, Poland; Karl H. Thunes, Norwegian Forest Research Institute, Fanaflaten 4, N-5244 Fana, Norway; John Skartveit, Musiplass 3, N-5007 Bergen, Norway; and & William L. Grogan, Jr., Dept. of Biological Sciences, Salisbury University, Salisbury, Maryland 21801 USA

This study is part of the forest bioiversity project entitled: Miljøregistrering i skog (Biodiversity hotspot indicators; http:/www.nisk.no/MiS/default.htm) of the Norwegian Forest Research Institute, and the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture. Ms. Enken Hassold and Mr. Bjarke Kynde, were senior undergraduate students at Roskilde University, Denmark and worked on the project while studying spring semester (January - May 1999) at Georgia Southern University, Statesboro. These students heard of GSU and Roskilde University’s joint relationship for student exchange/ collaboration from Dr. Soren Achen Nielsen, professor at Roskilde. The paper citation is:

Dasyhelea norvegica Szadziewski & Hagan 2000, described as new from Kvam municipality, Hordaland County, Norway.

Recent Literature

Taxonomy and Morphology