A Study of the diurnal biting and flight activity of Culicoides phlebotomus (Williston) (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) using three trapping methods

Abstract

The diurnal flight and biting activity patterns of Culicoides phlebotomus (Will.) were investigated during ten all-day (06·00–19·00 h) trapping sessions at Las Cuevas Bay, north Trinidad. A comparison was made of the results obtained by biting catches, paddle trapping (in which a piece of greased wire screen was swung in front of the collector's legs) and truck trapping. Biting activity persisted throughout the day, with peaks of activity one to two hours after sunrise and again at sunset. Truck trapping recorded little variation in flight activity of empty females during daylight hours, but that of engorged, half-gravid and gravid females was greater during the afternoon than in the morning. Male flight activity was high in the early morning and mid-afternoon but declined rapidly towards sunset. Paddle trapping alone recorded a substantial increase in the blood-seeking activity of parous females after sunset. The paddle-trapping technique was found to be a useful alternative to biting collections for the study of anthropophilic Culicoides.