Environmental Entomology (1981) 10, 807-811

Louis A. Magnarelli (1981)
Parity, follicular development, and sugar feeding in Culicoides melleus and C. hollensis
Environmental Entomology 10 (5), 807-811
Abstract: Vertebrate-host-seeking Culicoides melleus and C. hollensis were captured from 0930 to 2030 h in salt marshes and woodlands, dissected to determine stage of follicle development and parity, and were analyzed by an anthrone test for nectar sugars. Of the total 1,783 midges examined, 99.3% had completed the first gonotrophic cycle. More than 65% of 1,022 C. melleus and 61% of 743 C. hollensis had stage I follicles. The remainder had stages I-II or stage II terminal follicles. The predominance of parous midges suggests autogeny in the first ovarian cycle. Anthrone tests detected fructose or sucrose in 66% of 1,078 C. melleus and in 64% of 773 C. hollensis; sugar positivity approached or exceeded 50% for each species regardless of diel period or sampling site. Although definitive diurnal patterns of sugar presence were indiscernible, it is believed that these carbohydrates are important dietary supplements and are probably the chief energy sources for flight and maintenance activities.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Culicoides hollensis		U.S.A. (NE)
	Culicoides melleus		U.S.A. (NE)