Abstract
DNA barcoding in Ceratopogonidae has been restricted to interpreting the medically and veterinary important members of Culicoides Latreille. Here the technique is utilised, together with morphological study, to interpret all members of the family in a select area. Limited sampling from the county of Finnmark in northernmost Norway indicated the presence of 54 species, including 14 likely new to science, 16 new to Norway, and one new to Europe. No species were previously recorded from this county. Only 93 species were known for all of Norway before this survey, indicating how poorly studied the group is. We evaluate and discuss morphological characters commonly used in identification of biting midges and relate species diagnoses to released DNA barcode data from 223 specimens forming 58 barcode clusters in our dataset. DNA barcodes and morphology were congruent for all species, except in three morphological species where highly divergent barcode clusters indicate the possible presence of cryptic species.
Highlights
The Ceratopogonidae are generally small flies with a nearly worldwide distribution; the family includes 6,180 extant species in 111 genera (Borkent 2014a) but undoubtedly, many more undescribed species await discovery
Tissues were shipped to the Biodiversity Institute of Ontario (BIO), Canada for sequencing of partial c oxidase subunit one (COI) gene sequences
A list of barcoded material and all reference numbers are given in the Appendix; protocols, sequences, metadata and photographs of all specimens are available through the public project “Ceratopogonidae of Finnmark” [FICER] in the Barcode of Life Data Systems 3.0 (BOLD)
Summary
The Ceratopogonidae (biting midges) are generally small flies with a nearly worldwide distribution; the family includes 6,180 extant species in 111 genera (Borkent 2014a) but undoubtedly, many more undescribed species await discovery. More derived lineages are predators of primarily nematocerous Diptera (e.g. Chironomidae) (Downes and Wirth 1981). Adults of both sexes imbibe nectar and/or honey dew and some are important pollinators of plants such as cocoa (Glendinning 1972). Numerous species of Leptoconops Skuse, Forcipomyia Meigen and Culicoides Latreille are pests of humans and livestock, having irritating bites and transmitting a wide array of viruses, protozoa and nematodes, including some important diseases (Borkent 2005)
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