An account is given of the 21 species in the family Ceratopogonidae
that occur in the Maltese Islands, including 13 new records.peer-reviewe

Gatt, Paul

English

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Bulletin of the entomological Society of malta (2015) Vol. 7 :  113–119The family Ceratopogonidae(Diptera, Nematocera) in MaltaPaul GATT1ABSTRACT. An account is given of the 21 species in the family Ceratopogonidae that occur in the Maltese Islands, including 13 new records.KEY WORDS. Mediterranean, Culicoides, Dasyhelea, Atrichopogon, Forcipomyia.INTRODUCTION  The Ceratopogonidae (commonly known as biting midges) is a large family of diptera that occurs worldwide except for Antarctica. Over 6000 species are known to occur (Borkent & Wirth, 1997; Borkent, 2014) of which 567 occur in Europe (SzadzieWSki et al., 2013). The immature stages of most species require moisture in order to survive. Some are fully aquatic, developing in ponds, lakes, streams and saltmarshes. Others are semi-aquatic, developing in mud, wet meadows, leaf litter, moss, under bark, in tree holes, in sap runs and in ungulate dung. Adult flies may be flower-feeders or predatory on other insects and the females of many species suck the blood of vertebrates, mainly mammals and birds. A few of the blood sucking species are important vectors of zoonotic infections, the most significant of which are bluetongue disease of sheep and cattle, and African horse sickness of equines. In areas where biting activity is intense human and animal activity may be rendered impossible. The family is therefore of veterinary and economic importance.  The biting midge fauna of the Maltese archipelago has been very little investigated and is very poorly known. No species from Malta are cited in the Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera (remm, 1988). The first published records appear to be those of Goffredo et al. (2004) who between May and October 2002 ran traps (the nature of which is not specified) on cattle, sheep and goat farms in six fixed localities: four were on the island of Malta (Mellieħa, Rabat, San Gwann and Zejtun) and two on the island of Gozo (Għarb and Sannat). The purpose was to find whether Culicoides imicola Kieffer, 1913, the principal vector of bluetongue virus in the Mediterranean, was present in Malta. The survey was directed towards species of Culicoides Latreille, 1809 of which nine species were recorded, all for the first time: C. imicola, C. paolae Boorman, 1996, C. cataneii Clastrier, 1957, C. circumscriptus Kieffer, 1918, C. jumineri Callot & Kremer, 1969, C. kingi Austen, 1912, C. newsteadi Austen, 1921, C. maritimus Kieffer, 1924 and C. submaritimus Dzhafarov, 1962 (here treated as a synonym of maritimus Kieffer). All, apart from paolae and kingi, were found in very small numbers. One (C. imicola) is the only species in the family cited from Malta by SzadzieWSki et al. (2013) in the online database of Fauna Europaea.  Thirteen species have been known to occur on the Maltese Islands by the author since 1996 following examination of adult material hand swept in suitable habitats by the author and Dr Martin J. Ebejer between 1992 and 1995 and identified by Dr John Boorman of the Natural History Museum, London. This data is reported here for the first time. Reference is made to the species reported by Goffredo et al. (2004). Species are listed in alphabetical order following Borkent 1 Hon. Research Fellow, Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PW, UK. E-mail: pawlugatt@gmail.comDOI: 10.17387/BULLENTSOCMALTA.2015.09(2014). Species newly recorded from Malta are marked with an *. An abbreviated geographical distribution culled from several publications including remm (1988) and SzadzieWSki et al. (2013) is given for each species. Comments (including poorly known or recently established synonymies) are given for some species.  Specimens, including slide mounts in Canada balsam on which identifications were made are deposited in the author’s private collection and in the Natural History Museum, London.ANNOTATED SPECIES LISTSubfamily Ceratopogoninae Newman, 1834Culicoides cataneii Clastrier, 1957Literature records: Goffredo et al. (2004). No collection data was given.Material examined: Malta, Chadwick Lakes, 20.iv.1994, 1 ♂; Fiddien, 8.ix.1992, 1 ♂; Għadira, 9.iv.1993, 1 ♂, 5.v.1993, 1 ♂; Rabat, ix.1994, 4 ♂♂ & 1 ♀, 5.xi.1994, 1 ♂; Wied Incita, 27.ii.1994, 1 ♂.Distribution: A Palaearctic species widely distributed in Europe and the Mediterranean and extending to the Near East and North Africa.Culicoides circumscriptus Kieffer, 1918Literature records: Goffredo et al. (2004). No collection data was given.Material examined. Malta, Rabat, ix.1994, 2 ♀♀.Distribution: A very widely distributed species in the Palaearctic, also occurring in West Africa and the Oriental region.Culicoides imicola Kieffer, 1913Literature records: Goffredo et al. (2004). Collected from cattle farms in San Gwann (Malta) and Sannat and Għarb (Gozo) and a sheep and goat farm in Mellieħa (Malta). The species was found in very low abundance (< 0.1% of the total Culicoides collected).Distribution: An Afrotropical and Oriental species known in the Palaearctic from southern Europe and the Mediterranean (Portugal, Spain including the Balearic Islands, France including Corsica, Italy including Sardinia and Sicily, Malta, the Greek Islands and Cyprus), the Near East and North Africa.Culicoides jumineri Callot & Kremer, 1969Literature records: Goffredo et al. (2004). No collection data was given.Distribution: A predominantly Mediterranean species recorded from Portugal, Spain, France including Corsica, Sardinia and Malta. Also recorded from the Near East and North Africa.114                                                                                                                                                         P. GATTCulicoides kingi Austen, 1912Literature records: Goffredo et al. (2004). Collected in abundance in October from a sheep and goat farm in Mellieħa (Malta).Distribution: An Afrotropical species also recorded from the Mediterranean (Sardinia, Malta), North Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.Culicoides maritimus Kieffer, 1924Literature records: Goffredo et al. (2004). No collection data given. The authors also record C. submaritimus Dzhafarov, 1962 which was synonymised with maritimus by kremer & delécolle (1974). This synonymy was accepted by remm (1988), Borkent & Wirth (1997) and SzadieWSki et al. (2013).Material examined: Malta, Marfa Ridge, 17.iv.1992, 2 ♂♂; Rabat, ix.1994, 1 ♂.Distribution: A Palaearctic species widely distributed in Europe and extending as far East as Uzbekistan. Also known from the Near East and North Africa.Culicoides newsteadi Austen, 1921Literature records: Goffredo et al. (2004). No collection data was given.Material examined: Malta, Rabat, ix.1994, 1 ♀. Gozo, Wied il-Lunzjata, 11.xii.1993, 1 ♀.Distribution: A Palaearctic species widely distributed in Europe and extending as far East as Tajikistan. Also know from the Near East and North Africa.Culicoides paolae Boorman, 1996Literature records: Goffredo et al. (2004). This was by far the most abundant and widespread species of Culicoides collected by the authors, representing more than 80% of the total number of specimens collected. Distribution: A recently described species from southern Italy where it was suspected to feed on horses (Boorman et al., 1996) although its antennal and palpal morphology have led other authors (meiSWinkel et al., 2004) to speculate that it feeds preferentially on birds. The species was subsequently reported from Malta, Corsica, Sardinia, Croatia, Tunisia, France, Algeria, Greece and Spain in chronological order (references in eStrada et al., 2011).Culicoides punctatus (Meigen, 1804)*Material examined: Malta, Rabat, ix.1994, 1 ♀.Distribution: A widely distributed Palaearctic species.The biting midges of Malta                                                                115Culicoides univittatus (Vimmer, 1932)*  Culicoides agathensis Callot, Kremer & Rioux, 1963 was synonymised with C. univittatus by kremer et al. (1981).Material examined: Malta, Fiddien, 5.iii.1991, 5 ♀♀, 8.ix.1992, 1 ♂, 23.i.1993, 1 ♂ & 2 ♀♀, 3.iii.1994, 1 ♀; Rabat, ix.1994, 2 ♂♂; Wied Għajn Riħana, 5.ii.1994, 1 ♂.Distribution: A predominantly southern European and Mediterranean species known from Portugal, Spain, France including Corsica, Italy including Sardinia, and Albania, extending to the Near East.Culicoides vidourlensis Callot, Kremer, Molet & Bach, 1968*Material examined: Malta, Rabat, ix.1994, 4 ♀♀.Distribution: A central European species extending into the Mediterranean (Corsica, Malta and North Africa) and the Near East.Subfamily Dasyheleinae Lenz, 1934Dasyhelea flavifrons (Guérin-Méneville, 1833)*  Dasyhelea dufouri (Laboulbène, 1869) was synonymised with D. flavifrons by SzadzieWSki & dominiak (2006).Material examined: Malta, Balzan, 8.ix.1991, 7 ♂♂, 7 pupal exuviae; Buskett, 9.vii.1993, 1 ♀, 11.iv.1994, 1 ♂ & 1 ♀; Fiddien, 3.iii.1994, 2 ♂♂; Għadira, 9.iv.1993, 2 ♀♀; Marfa Ridge, 22.iii.1992, 2 ♂♂ & 5 ♀♀, 17.iv.1992, 1 ♂; Mistra, 19.iii.1993, 2 ♂♂ & 1 ♀; Salina, 23.viii.1992, 2 ♂♂ & 1 ♀; Wied Għajn Riħana, 1.iv.1994, 14 ♂♂; Wied Incita, 27.ii.1994, 2 ♂♂ & 4 ♀♀.Distribution: Widely distributed in the Palaearctic as far East as Japan.Dasyhelea flavoscutellata (Zetterstedt, 1850)*Material examined: Malta, Marfa Ridge, 22.iii.1992, 1 ♂ & 1 ♀.Distribution: A widely distributed Palaearctic species.Subfamily Forcipomyiinae Lenz, 1934Atrichopogon (Psammopogon) albiscapula Kieffer, 1918*Material examined: Malta, Baħrija, 11.viii.1992, 2 ♀♀, 13.vi.1993, 2 ♂♂ & 3 ♀♀; Buskett, 15.viii.1992, 14 ♂♂ & 14 ♀♀, 9.vii.1993, 18 ♂♂ & 6 ♀♀; Fiddien, 8.vii.1992, 1 ♂ & 1 ♀, 8.ix.1992, 1 ♂, 8.xi.1992, 2 ♀♀, 21.ix.1994, 1 ♂. Gozo, Għarb, Wied il-Mielaħ, 1 ♂ & 1 ♀, 29.xi.1991. Distribution: A southern Palaearctic species known from Spain, Algeria and Tunisia.116                                                                                                                                                         P. GATTForcipomyia (Euprojoannisia) alacris (Winnertz, 1852)*Material examined: Malta, Baħrija, 11.viii.1992, 2 ♂♂; Delimara, 24.iv.1993, 1 ♂; Fiddien, 8.ix.1992, 2 ♂♂, 21.ix.1994, 1♂; Mistra, 19.iii.1993, 1 ♂; Mizieb, 31.iii.1993, 1 ♂ & 1 ♀, 8.xii.1993, 3 ♂♂; Rabat, 24.xii.1993, 1 ♂ & 1 ♀, ix.1994, 25 ♂♂ & 5 ♀♀, 5.xi.1994, 1 ♂; Wied Għajn Riħana, 5.ii.1994, 1 ♂, 1.iv.1994, 3 ♂♂; Wied Incita, 27.ii.1994, 26 ♂♂ & 10 ♀♀, 19.ii.1995, 6 ♂♂ & 2 ♀♀; Wied Qannotta, 20.ii.1994, 2 ♂♂, 1.iv.1994, 1 ♂.Distribution: A central and eastern European species extending as far East as Siberia. Also recorded from North Africa and the Near East.Forcipomyia (Forcipomyia) bipunctata (Linnaeus, 1767)*Material examined: Malta, Għadira, 5.v.1993, 2 ♂♂; Rabat, iii.1994, 2 ♂♂, 5.xi.1994, 1 ♂; Mizieb, 31.iii.1993, 7 ♂♂ & 4 ♀♀; Wied Għomor, 17.vi.1992, 3 ♂♂. Gozo, Mgarr ix-Xini, 23.iv.1992, 7 ♂♂.Distribution: A widely distributed Holarctic species extending as far east as Japan. Also known from the Near East and North Africa.Forcipomyia (Forcipomyia) ciliata (Winnertz, 1852)*Material examined: Gozo, Dwejra, 10.iv.1992, 1 ♂.Distribution: A widely distributed Holarctic species extending as far East as Mongolia.Forcipomyia (Forcipomyia) nigra (Winnertz, 1852)*Material examined: Malta, Marfa Ridge, 22.iii.1992, 7 ♂♂ & 6 ♀♀, 17.iv.1992, 8 ♂♂ & 6 ♀♀, 19.iii.1994, 3 ♂♂ & 1 ♀; Mistra, 19.iii.1993, 1 ♂ & 1 ♀; Rabat, ix.1994, 1 ♂; Wied Incita, 19.ii.1995, 1 ♂ & 1 ♀. Gozo, Dwejra, 28.ix.1993, 7 ♂♂ & 1 ♀; Ramla dunes, 10.iv.1993, 2 ♂♂.Distribution: A Palaearctic species widely distributed in Europe extending as far East as Kyrgyzstan. Also recorded from North Africa.Forcipomyia (Lepidohelea) pulcherrima Santos Abreu, 1918*Forcipomyia marsafae Ghonaim, Ibrahim & Ali, 2001 described from Egypt was synonymised with F. pulcherrima by SzadzieWSki et al. (2011). More recently, GroGan et al. (2013) synonymised F. chrysolopha (Kieffer, 1911) described from the Seychelles with F. pulcherrima.Material examined: Malta, Marfa Ridge, 17.iv.1992, 1 ♂; Rabat, 5.xi.1994, 1 ♂ & 1 ♀.Distribution: A widely distributed Old World Afrotropical and Oriental species first described from the Canary Islands. Recorded in the southern Palaearctic from Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and the Caucasus. GroGan et al. (2013) recently recorded it from the United States where it was introduced with shipments of soil potted orchids from Asia. The biting midges of Malta                                                                117Forcipomyia (Synthyridomyia) murina (Winnertz, 1852)*Material examined: Malta, Balzan, vii‒x.1993, 2 ♂♂; Delimara, 24.iv.1993, 2 ♂♂; Għadira, 9.iv.1993, 2 ♂♂.Distribution: A widely distributed species in the Holarctic, Afrotropical and Oriental regions.Forcipomyia (Thyridomyia) frutetorum (Winnertz, 1852)*Material examined: Malta, Għadira, 9.iv.1993, 4 ♂♂; Manikata, 9.iv.1993, 2 ♂♂ & 1 ♀; Marfa Ridge, 19.iii.1994, 2 ♂♂; Mizieb, 31.iii.1993, 2 ♂♂. Gozo, Dwejra, 10.iv.1992, 1 ♂.Distribution: Widely distributed in the Holarctic and Afrotropical regions.DISCUSSION  Twenty one species of Ceratopogonidae are here recorded from Malta, 13 for the first time. This compares favourably with the 22 species that were recorded by Boorman (1995) from neighbouring Sicily, which is much larger and more ecologically diverse. Having said that, the fauna of Sicily, with the exception of species of Culicoides remains poorly known. Many species reported here are known from a very small number of specimens. It is expected that more intensive collecting and trapping will result in the discovery of yet more species on the islands.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  The author is indebted to Dr John Boorman (Surrey, UK) for identifying material and Dr Martin J. Ebejer (Entomology Section, Department of Biodiversity & Systematic Biology, National Museum of Wales, Cardiff, UK) for providing material for study and for reading a draft of the manuscript and suggesting improvements. Dr Jean-Claude Delécolle (Institutes of Parasitological & Tropical Pathology, University of Strasbourg, France) is very warmly thanked for identifying Atrichopogon albiscapula and for critically reviewing a final draft of the manuscript. REFERENCESBoorman, J. (1995) Part 65. Diptera Culicomorpha. Famiglia Ceratopogonidae (Pp. 13‒16). In: minelli, a., ruffo, S. & la PoSta, S. [eds.], Checklist delle specie della fauna italiana. Comitato Scientifico per la Fauna d’Italia. Ed. Calderini, Bologna.Boorman, J., mellor, P.S. & Scaramozzino, P. (1996) A new species of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from southern Italy. Parassitologia, 38: 501‒503.Borkent, a. (2014) World species of Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). http://wwx.inhs.illinois.edu/files/9913/9144/3328/CeratopogonidaeCatalog.pdf (accessed January 2015)Borkent, a. & Wirth, W.W. (1997) World species of Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, No. 223, New York. 257 pp.eStrada, r., carmona, V.J., alarcón-elBal, P.m., miranda, m.a., BorráS, d., roche, m.l., tamarit, a., naVarro, J. & lucienteS, J. (2011) Primera cita de Culicoides paolae Boorman, 1996 (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae) para la península Ibérica y aportaciones distribución. Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa, 49: 217‒221.Goffredo, m., ButtiGieG, m., meiSWinkel, r., delécolle, J.-c. & chircoP, S. (2004) Entomological surveillance for bluetongue on Malta: first report of Culicoides imicola Kieffer. Veterinaria Italiana, 40 (3): 278‒281.118                                                                                                                                                         P. GATTGroGan, W.l. Jr., hriBar, l.J. & hoWarth, f.G. (2013) The Old World biting midge, Forcipomyia (Lepidohelea) pulcherrima Santos Abreu, new to the fauna of the United States (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Polskie Pismo Entomologiczne, 82: 287‒302.kremer, m., BraVerman, Y. & delécolle, J.-c. (1981) Taxonomy of some species of Culicoides described by Vimmer (1932) from Palestine, with new synonyms. Israeli Journal of Entomology, 15: 1‒11.kremer, m. & delécolle, J.-c. (1974) Variabilité des caractères morphologiques des Culicoides. Annales de Parasitologie, 49 (5): 617‒619.meiSWinkel, r., laBuSchaGne, k. & Goffredo, m. (2004) Christopher Columbus and Culicoides: was C. jamaicensis Edwards, 1922 introduced into the Mediterranean and 500 years later renamed C. paolae Boorman, 1996? In: maclachlan, n.J. & PearSon, J.e. [eds.], Bluetongue, Part 1. Proc. Third International Symposium, Taormina, 26‒29 October 2003. Veterinaria Italiana, 40 (3): 340‒344.remm, h. (1988) Family Ceratopogonidae (Pp. 11‒110); Family Leptoconopidae (Pp. 110‒114). In: SoóS, a. & PaPP, L. [eds.], Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera (Ceratopogonidae– Mycetophilidae). Akadémiai Kiadó, Budapest. 448 pp.SzadzieWSki, r., Borkent, a. & dominiak, P. (2013) Fauna Europaea: Ceratopogonidae. In: Beuk, P. & PaPe, t. [eds.], Fauna Europaea: Diptera Nematocera. Fauna Europaea. Version 2.6.2, http://www.faunaeur.org (accessed January 2015)SzadzieWSki, r. & dominiak, P. (2006) New synonyms of European Ceratopogonidae (Diptera). Annales Zoologici Warszawa, 56 (1): 139‒146.SzadzieWSki, r., GWizdalSka-kentzer, m. & Giłka, W. (2011) Order Diptera, Family Ceratopogonidae (Pp. 636‒653). In: harten, a. Van [ed.], Arthropod Fauna of the UAE. Vol. 4, Abu Dhabi. 832 pp.The biting midges of Malta                                                                119Received: March 1, 2015Accepted: March 30, 2015

A new species of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from southern Italy.

Christopher Columbus and Culicoides: was C. jamaicensis Edwards,

Entomological surveillance for bluetongue on Malta: first report of Culicoides imicola Kieffer. Veterinaria Italiana,

Family Ceratopogonidae (Pp. 11‒110); Family Leptoconopidae (Pp.

Fauna Europaea: Diptera Nematocera. Fauna Europaea. Version 2.6.2, http://www.faunaeur.org (accessed

Order Diptera, Family Ceratopogonidae (Pp.

Part 65. Diptera Culicomorpha. Famiglia Ceratopogonidae (Pp.

Primera cita de Culicoides paolae Boorman,

Taxonomy of some species of Culicoides described by Vimmer

The biting midges of Malta 119 Received:

The Old World biting midge, Forcipomyia (Lepidohelea) pulcherrima Santos Abreu, new to the fauna of the United States (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Polskie Pismo Entomologiczne,

Variabilité des caractères morphologiques des Culicoides.

World species of Biting Midges (Diptera:

World species of Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).

The family Ceratopogonidae (Diptera, Nematocera) in Malta

ABSTRACT. An account is given of the 21 species in the family Ceratopogonidae that occur in the Maltese Islands, including 13 new records

Paul Gatt

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The family Ceratopogonidae (Diptera, Nematocera) in Malta

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