Ceratopogonids also known as biting midges have a variety of common or vernacular names.  Actually biting midges include two groups of flies that have different life styles.  Some biting midges actually take a blood meal from a vertebrate as adult flies, and others ceratopogonids are predaceous and actually feed on the blood of other insects.
    The blood-sucking midges are members of the genus Culicoides (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae) which consists of over 1300 species.  Although minute in size, (usually no longer than 3 mm), these insects inflict a fierce bite, often resulting in a lesion which is more painful than that of a mosquito.  The severity of the Culicoides bite as well as its small size, have led to such names as “flying teeth” and “no-see-ums.”  Culicoides are also known as “punkies,” and “sand flies.”
    Culicoides have been a major factor affecting the growth of industry and tourism in many coastal communities.  Salt-marsh habitats provide the ideal breeding medium for many species of Culicoides.  As a result, populations levels may increase so rapidly that chemical control is often a futile effort.  Still, millions of dollars each year are spent on pesticides in an attempt to control these pests.
    In addition to the physical discomfort caused by the bite of these flies, many species transmit disease to man and livestock.  The most economically significant disease transmitted by Culicoides is bluetongue, a viral pathogen which kills or debilitates hundreds of deer, sheep and cattle each year.
    Factors currently known to influence population densities of Culicoides include: breeding habitat, available hosts and climate.  Of these, oviposition sites are of primary importance. Culicoides larvae have the potential  to develop anywhere their three basic requirements air, water and food, are met.  However, most species display a high level of specificity for pH, salinity, temperature and light.  Murphree and Mullen (1991) conducted an in-depth study of Culicoides larvae, comparing 49 North American species.  Suitable habitats included moist soil, rotting wood, cow dung, salt marshes, tree holes, and cacti.  Larvae commonly fed on detritus, yeast, or algae.
     The study of the biology of Culicoides has been primarily directed toward either the coastal nuisance species, C. furens (Poey), C. hollensis (Melander & Brues) and C. melleus (Coquillett) or the known bluetongue vectors, C. insignis and C. variipennis.  The number of described species of Culicoides continues to steadily increase (Borkent, 2006).  While various environmental factors (e.g., habitat characteristics or climatic conditions) may be used to predict the presence of C. variipennis or C. furens, little is known regarding the ecology of other Culicoides species. Culicoides are known to transmit bluetongue and other arboviruses, little effort has been made to understand the ecological factors influencing their habitat selection.
   Predaceous species of ceratopogonids, including Atrichopogon, Bezzia, Brachypogon, Ceratopogon, Forcipomyia, Palpomyia, Schizohelea, and Serromyia are known to feed on the hemolymph (= insect blood) of other arthropods (Blanton & Wirth 1979).

Blanton, F.S. & W.W. Wirth.  1979.  Arthropods of Florida and Neighboring Land
         Areas:  The Sand Flies (Culicoides) of Florida (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).
         Bureau of  Ent., Contribution No. 424, Vol. 10.

Borkent, A. 2006. World Species of Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).
        http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cee/FLYTREE/CeratopogonidaeCatalog.pdf

Murphree, C.S. & G.R. Mullen.  1991.  Comparative larval morphology of the
         genus Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in North America with
         a key to species.  Bul. Soc. Vector Ecol. 16: 269-399.
 

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