Monitoring ofCulicoidesLatreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) After Btv Outbreaks, in Sheep Farms and Natural Habitats from the Basque Country (Northern Spain)

Abstract

Abstract. Since bluetongue outbreaks occurred in november 2007 in northern Spain, an intensive trapping program was carried out to study the diversity and abundance of the Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) species. Eleven sheep farms and seven natural habitats distributed throughout the Basque country region were sampled using UV light CDC traps between 2008–2011. A total of 348,685 Culicoides specimens belonging to 52 species were collected during 1,480 trappings in 24h periods. An updated checklist of these 52 species (including four new records for the Iberian peninsula) is provided from the Basque country. The most abundant species in sheep farms were the two sibling species of the obsoletus complex (81.8% of the total catches): C. obsoletus (Meigen) and C. scoticus Downes and Kettle. Culicoides lupicaris Downes and Kattle was the next most abundant taxon collected in farms (9.7% of the total). Few specimens of Culicoides imicola Kieffer, the bluetongue vector in Mediterranean Basin and ...