Journal of Medical Entomology (1999) 36, 493-502

Daniel L. Kline and Richard C. Axtell (1999)
Sensilla of the antennae and maxillary palps of Culicoides hollensis and C. melleus (Diptera : Ceratopogonidae)
Journal of Medical Entomology 36 (4), 493-502
Abstract: The types and arrangement of the sensilla on the female antennae and maxillary palps of both sexes of 2 estuarine species of biting midges, Culicoides hollensis (Melander and Brues) and C. melleus (Coquillett), were studied by scanning electron microscopy. Five sensillum types are found on the antennae of both species. Both species have sharp-tipped sensilla trichodea and sensilla basiconica only on subsegments 9-13 and blunt-tipped sensilla trichodea on all subsegments. Sensilla coeloconica occur on subsegment 1 of both species and various other subsegments depending on the species. Sensilla chaetica are found on all subsegments of C. melleus, but only on subsegments 1-8 and 13 on C. hollensis. Both sexes of C. hollensis have either 1 or 2 pits on the 3rd segment of the maxillary palps, which contain 8-15 bulb-shaped sensilla in females compared with 5-6 in males. No pit is found on the maxillary palps of either sex of C. melleus, but rather the bulb-shaped sensilla are distributed individually on this segment, ranging from 13 to 29 on the female and 6-10 on the male palps. These data are compared with data obtained from previously published light and electron microscopical studies of biting midge sensory structures.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Daniel L. Kline

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
	Culicoides melleus