Medical and Veterinary Entomology (2019) 33, 110-120

B.L. McGregor, T. Stenn, K.A. Sayler, E.M. Blosser, J.K. Blackburn, S.M. Wisely and N.D. Burkett-Cadena (2019)
Host use patterns of Culicoides spp. biting midges at a big game preserve in Florida, U.S.A., and implications for the transmission of orbiviruses
Medical and Veterinary Entomology 33 (1), 110-120
Abstract: Culicoides spp. biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are vectors of pathogens that have a significant economic impact on the livestock industry. White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), a farmed species in the U.S.A., are susceptible to two Culicoides spp. borne orbiviruses: bluetongue virus and epizootic haemorrhagic disease virus. Elucidating host–vector interactions is an integral step in studying disease transmission. This study investigated the host range of Culicoides spp. present on a big game preserve in Florida on which a variety of Cervidae and Bovidae freely roam. Culicoides were captured with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) miniature light traps run twice weekly on the preserve for 18 consecutive months (July 2015–December 2016). Host preference was quantified through forage ratios, based upon PCR-based bloodmeal analysis of Culicoides spp. and overall animal relative abundance on the preserve. Culicoides stellifer preferentially fed on Cervus spp. and fallow deer (Dama dama) and displayed a relative avoidance of Bovidae and white-tailed deer. Culicoides debilipalpis preferred white-tailed deer and avoided all Bovidae. Culicoides pallidicornis and Culicoides biguttatus showed preferences for white-tailed deer and Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus), respectively. These results add to current knowledge of preferred hosts of Florida Culicoides spp. and have implications for the spread of orbiviruses.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Nathan D. Burkett-Cadena

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Culicoides crepuscularis		U.S.A. (SE)
	Culicoides paraensis		U.S.A. (SE)
	Culicoides insignis		U.S.A. (SE)
	Culicoides stellifer		U.S.A. (SE)
	Culicoides biguttatus		U.S.A. (SE)
	Culicoides debilipalpis		U.S.A. (SE)
	Culicoides haematopotus		U.S.A. (SE)
	Culicoides pallidicornis		U.S.A. (SE)
	Culicoides venustus		U.S.A. (SE)