An artificial larval medium for colonized Culicoides guttipennis was developed. Microorganisms in decaying leaf matter were present in the original laboratory diet. These were believed to be the main food of C. guttipennis larvae. This was verified by sterilizing the leaf matter to kill the organisms present. Larvae did not develop beyond the first instar in this medium, but adults were produced from non-sterilized leaf matter. The objective was to develop cultures of various microorganisms and find one that would be best for rearing C. guttipennis larvae in producing more adults. A simple hay-infusion medium inoculated with stump-hole microorganisms was found more effective than all other cultures screened in rearing the larvae. This culture consisted of stump-hole microorganisms inoculated fresh each week from stored stumphole contents. It was compared with the same culture containing stumphole microorganisms completely adapted to a laboratory environment. The former was better in rearing C. guttipennis larvae. A final experiment evaluated the incorporation of vermiculite as an artificial substrate. This proved successful in rearing larvae and producing large numbers of adults. This culture was superior over the larval rearing medium of decaying leaf matter. Development of a successful artificial larval medium for colonized C. guttipennis will aid in establishing other laboratory colonies of related Culicoides species. / Master of Science

La Fièvre catarrhale ovine (FCO) est une arbovirose émergente en Europe depuis la fin desannées 90. Elle affecte principalement les ruminants par la piqûre de petits moucheronshématophages, les Culicoides (Diptera : Ceratopogonidae). Pendant l’été 2006, l’introductiondu sérotype 8 de la FCO, dans la région de Maastricht (Pays-Bas) a rapidement diffusé dansles Ardennes, générant de lourdes pertes pour les éleveurs de bovins et d’ovins. Cesévènements interrogent sur la capacité des Culicoides de la région paléarctique à transmettrela FCO. Ils révèlent la nécessité de mieux connaître la biologie de ces diptères.Nous avons développé successivement dans ce travail, trois axes de recherche qui se sontappuyés sur un travail de terrain réalisé principalement au sein de deux élevages situés dansles Ardennes françaises.Dans un premier temps, nous avons réalisé une expérimentation de gorgement de Culicoidesde captures et d’émergences, provenant des Ardennes, sur petits ruminants virémiques pour leBTV8. A l’issue des expérimentations, une femelle gorgée de l’espèce Culicoides obsoletus apondu et a été retrouvée faiblement positive lors de la recherche du génome du virus de laFCO. Les résultats obtenus ainsi que les difficultés rencontrées lors de la réalisation de cetype d’expérimentation sont discutés.Le deuxième travail exposé s’est intéressé au comportement trophique des Culicoides parl’étude de l’origine du repas sanguin de femelles de Culicoides piégées dans des biotopesvariés. A cette fin, nous avons utilisé des marqueurs moléculaires pour amplifier l’ADN devertébré présent dans les estomacs de femelles gorgées. Ces analyses ont permis de mettre enévidence que des espèces appartenant aux complexes Obsoletus, Pulicaris, ou encore,Culicoides dewulfi, avaient un spectre d’hôte large. Certaines d’entre elles peuvent se gorger àla fois sur les ruminants domestiques et sur la faune sauvage. De plus, ce type d’étuderenseigne sur l’écologie des différentes espèces de Culicoides.Enfin, nous présentons les résultats d’une étude faunistique fondée sur des captures avec despièges lumineux, mais aussi, des prélèvements de boue pour la recherche des gîtes larvaires.Les résultats de piégeages entre les deux exploitations ont été comparés, notamment en termesde biodiversité, et sont discutés en regard des différences de pratiques d’élevage entre lesdeux exploitations choisies d’une part, et la mise en évidence des gîtes larvaires d’autre part.De nombreuses espèces de Culicoides ont émergé au laboratoire à partir des prélèvements deboues, qui ont été caractérisés macroscopiquement. Les gîtes larvaires de C. obsoletus, peuconnus jusqu’alors, ont été mis en évidence dans les deux fermes. Ils ont fait l’objet d’un suivisur plusieurs mois.L’ensemble de ces études contribue à la meilleure connaissance des Culicoides présents dansles Ardennes et de leur biologie, elles permettent de rendre compte des espèces qui semblenttrès inféodées à l’élevage de bovins, et celles qui sont plus ubiquistes. Certains travauxprésentés pourraient être poursuivis pour mettre en évidence les espèces ou populations deCulicoides plutôt sylvatiques, et pour mettre en place de nouvelles expérimentations sur lacompétence et la capacité vectorielle des Culicoides. / Since the late 90’s, Bluetongue disease (BT) can be considered as an emerging arbovirose inEurope. This disease is mainly transmitted to ruminants by the bites of minute size midges,the Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), also known as biting midges. An outbreak of BTserotype 8 occurred during summer 2006, in the region of Maastricht (Netherlands) andspread quickly to the Ardennes region. The epizooty lead to severe losses in cattle and sheepholdings. These events highlighted the lack of knowledge on the vectorial capacity ofpaleartic Culicoides species, and more generally on their biology.Three approaches are successively treated in this document. They are all based on field workconducted mainly in two holdings located in the Ardennes region.First, an experiment to assess oral susceptibility of Culicoides to Bluetongue virus (BTV) 8was undertaken. Field collected and emerging Culicoides coming from the Ardennes wereengorged on viremic small ruminants. At the end of the experiments, one Culicoides obsoletusfemale was found bloodfed and laid eggs. She was tested for BTV and was found weaklypositive for BTV genome. This result and the difficulties met during the experiment havebeen discussed.The second study focused on the bloodmeal origin of engorged females of Culicoides. Thesewere collected by light traps set in different kinds of environment. Molecular markers wereused in order to amplify the DNA of vertebrates present in the stomach of bloodfed females.Some of the species processed belonging to the Obsoletus or the Pulicaris complex, andCulicoides dewulfi fed on a wide variety of hosts, including domestic ruminants and wildanimals. Moreover, this kind of study brings information on the ecology of different speciesof Culicoides.Finally, a faunistic survey is presented. It was achieved through light trap collections ofmidges and also thanks to the sampling of potential breeding sites. Biodiversity in thecollection of midges captured by light traps between the two holdings were compared.Differences observed are discussed taking into account the differences in breeding practicesbetween the two holdings and the breeding sites investigations. Numerous species ofCulicoides emerged in the laboratory from soil samples which were macroscopicallydescribed. Breeding sites of C. obsoletus, which were not well documentated in the literature,were found in both farms. These were monitored over some months.This work contributes to a better knowledge of the Culicoides present in the Ardennes andtheir biology. It highlights the species which are closely related to the cattle holdingenvironment, and those which are ubiquist. Some of these studies could be continued in orderto highlight the species more related to the forested areas, and to set new experiments onvectorial competence and capacity.

Six new species of <i>Dasyhelea Kieffer</i>, 1911 from Argentinean and Chilean Patagonia are described and illustrated based on adults. Five of these species do not belong to any of the recognized groups found in the Americas. The remaining one, Dasyhelea pabloi sp. nov. is a typical member of the <i>leptobranchia</i> group and is the first record of a species from this group found in the Neotropical region.

No description available.

Culicoides molestus (Skuse) is the major species of biting midge that plagues human comfort in the estuarine Gold Coast region of southeast Queensland. Local authorities have initiated a search for an effective, non-chemical means of control, that would minimize human-midge interaction. The effectiveness of a program to control an organism, such as a biting midge, is dependent upon knowledge of the biology of the particular organism of interest. This project revolved examines the lifecycle of C. molestus in detail. It addresses questions regarding the location, seasonal distribution, and dispersal of its juvenile stages in the sand of infested beaches, and their response to chemical treatment, the monthly and annual cycles of the adult midge, and the possibilities of achieving laboratory oviposition, as a first step to laboratory colonisation. The distribution of eggs, larvae and pupae of C. molestus was found to be mostly concentrated around, but below, mean tide level. They also occurred well below the mean tide level. Eggs and larvae have been recovered from as deep as 10 cm in the sand. A seasonal study of the juveniles of this species indicated that they were more strongly influenced by tides than seasons. After a routine pest-control larviciding treatment, a beach recolonisation study revealed that beaches become suitable for oviposition approximately two months after treatment. Large larvae invaded the sprayed areas within days of treatment, which suggests the existence of a refuge outside of the reach of the insecticide. Larvae found in clean (egg- and larva-free), isolated sand containers, placed on the study beach, indicated that larvae could swim in or on the water as a way of moving around the beach. Extended bite-rate studies highlighted the existence of four peaks in adult midge biting activity during the course of a year, around the mid seasons. The strongest peaks of activity were found to be in autumn and spring, but the data suggest that the species undergoes four generations in a year. Through a series of trial-and-error experiments, oviposition under laboratory conditions was achieved. Although the time from blood-feeding to egg maturation is not yet well determined, it occurs within an eight day mean survival period. Blood quality appears critical for adult blood-fed midge survival. Midges fed on the blood of a volunteer who was frequently exposed to midge bites do not live long enough to mature its eggs. The partial ovarial development of one unfed adult female, reared in the laboratory, indicates that C. molestus is facultatively anautogenous.

Submitted by Geyciane Santos (geyciane_thamires@hotmail.com) on 2015-07-31T13:08:07Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Emanuelle de Sousa Farias.pdf: 2780340 bytes, checksum: bac6d0e67ce460607bfe6e587aa2068a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2015-08-03T15:22:46Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Emanuelle de Sousa Farias.pdf: 2780340 bytes, checksum: bac6d0e67ce460607bfe6e587aa2068a (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2015-08-03T15:26:45Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Emanuelle de Sousa Farias.pdf: 2780340 bytes, checksum: bac6d0e67ce460607bfe6e587aa2068a (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-08-03T15:26:45Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Emanuelle de Sousa Farias.pdf: 2780340 bytes, checksum: bac6d0e67ce460607bfe6e587aa2068a (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-26 / CAPES - Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The biting midges Culicoides are vectors of some etiological agents to humans and other mammals. There are just a few studies in Amazon basin about that insects and the diversity and richness of this genus is underestimated. The aims of this study were to describe the fauna of midges in a rural settlement in Amazon and to understand how the anthropic effects may affect the richness and abundance of these putative local vectors. Collections were done by CDC light traps in some environment as primary forest, forest borders, secondary forest, fruit garden and peridomiciliary area with animal shelters. We identified 6.093 individuals, distributed in 42 species, 39 morphotypes of seven subgenera and /or species groups and five new species of Reticulatus group. We found 13 new occurrence to Amazonas State C. aldomani, C. batesi, C. brownie, C. debilipalpis, C. flavivenula , C. franklini, C. glabellus, C. guamai, C. guttatus, C. ocumarensi, C. paramaruim, C. pusilloides and C. tidwelli, and two new occourence to the country, the species C. brownie and C. tidwelli. Our results show that different anthropic levels affect the abundance and diversity of midges. The diversity was high in less anthropized environments. The peridomiciliary areas had a high richness and abundance of Culicoides. / Os Culicoides são insetos transmissores de agentes patogênicos ao homem e outros animais. Na região amazônica existem poucos estudos sobre esses insetos e o número de espécies é subestimado. Este estudo objetivou conhecer a fauna de Culicoides de um assentamento rural na Amazônia e verificar se o efeito antrópico afeta a diversidade e abundância dos mesmos. As coletas foram feitas com armadilhas luminosas do tipo CDC em ambientes de floresta, borda de floresta, capoeira e peridomicílio. Foram identificados 6.093 indivíduos, distribuídos em 42 espécies, 39 morfótipos de sete subgênero/grupo e cinco espécies novas do grupo Reticulatus. Foram encontrados 13 novos registros de espécies de Culicoides para o estado do Amazonas: C. aldomani, C. batesi, C. brownie, C. debilipalpis, C. flavivenula , C. franklini, C. glabellus, C. guamai, C. guttatus, C. ocumarensi, C. paramaruim, C. pusilloides e C. tidwelli, sendo C. brownie e C. tidwelli novos registros para o Brasil. Os resultados indicam que diferentes graus de antropização do ambiente influenciaram a abundância e diversidade dos Culicoides, cuja diversidade foi alta em ambientes menos antropizados. Ambientes totalmente antropizados, como peridomicílio, apresentaram maior abundância e riqueza.

Submitted by Edisangela Bastos (edisangela@ufpa.br) on 2013-09-05T14:32:42Z No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23898 bytes, checksum: e363e809996cf46ada20da1accfcd9c7 (MD5) Dissertacao_MaruinsDipteraCeratopogonidae.pdf: 24899976 bytes, checksum: c8cdb1e6313104678586c44aa86263ab (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Rosa Silva(arosa@ufpa.br) on 2013-09-06T15:36:33Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23898 bytes, checksum: e363e809996cf46ada20da1accfcd9c7 (MD5) Dissertacao_MaruinsDipteraCeratopogonidae.pdf: 24899976 bytes, checksum: c8cdb1e6313104678586c44aa86263ab (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-09-06T15:36:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2 license_rdf: 23898 bytes, checksum: e363e809996cf46ada20da1accfcd9c7 (MD5) Dissertacao_MaruinsDipteraCeratopogonidae.pdf: 24899976 bytes, checksum: c8cdb1e6313104678586c44aa86263ab (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004-03 / A família Ceratopogonidae tem aproximadamente 5360 espécies, das quais 205 são extintas. Estas espécies estão distribuídas em 125 gêneros. As espécies de Culicoides estão entre as menores moscas hematófagas do mundo, medindo de um a três milimetros de comprimento. Mais de 1400 espécies têm sido identificadas em todo o mundo, das quais 96%, obrigatoriamente, sugam sangue de mamíferos (inclusive humanos) e aves, tendo sua principal importância como vetores de viroses humanas e de animais. Apesar da importância epidemiológica são poucos os trabalhos realizados no Brasil sobre biologia, comportamento de ataque e ecologia das espécies de Ceratopogonidae que sugam o homem. Este trabalho teve como objetivo fazer o levantamento das espécies de Ceratopogonidae que ocorrem em áreas costeiras do Estado do Pará, estudando as atividades horárias de ataque das espécies a procura do repasto sanguíneo no ser humano e fornecer informações básicas importantes para definição de períodos menos e mais problemáticos por causa do ataque destes dípteros. Foram dois os pontos amostrados na região costeira do Estado do Pará, um no litoral atlântico a nordeste do estado do Pará (município de Marapanim) e outro na área costeira do estuário do rio Pará (Outeiro, município de Belém). As coletas foram realizadas mensalmente de abril e outubro de 2003, utilizando-se isca humana e armadilhas CDC. Foram coletados 4083 exemplares de Ceratopogonidae distribuídos em 29 espécies pertencentes a seis gêneros, sendo 620 exemplares provenientes de Outeiro distribuídos em 21 espécies, pertencentes a cinco gêneros e 3463 exemplares provenientes de Marapanim de nove espécies, pertencentes a quatro gêneros. A fauna da região litorânea mostrou-se bastante diferente da zona do estuário do rio Pará, sendo Leptoconops brasiliensis a única espécie comum aos dois pontos amostrados. Em Outeiro as espécies mais abundantes foram Culicoides batesi e Culicoides denisae e em Marapanim Culicoides maruim e Culicoides phiebotomus. As espécies Culicoides crucifèr e Culicoides daviesi coletadas em Outeiro são registradas pela primeira vez no Brasil e Culicoides denisae e Culicoides phlebotomus tiveram suas distribuições ampliadas ao estado do Pará. Em Outeiro encontrou-se correlação negativa significativa entre a temperatura e a atividade de antropofilia por horas do dia de Culicoides batesi, Culicoides cruciftr e Culicoides paramaruim e correlação positiva significativa com a umidade relativa do ar. Em Marapanim Culicoides maruim apresentou correlação negativa significativa com a temperatura e positiva significativa com a umidade do ar. Em Outeiro, de acordo com os horários de ataque das duas espécies mais abundantes (C. batesi e C. denisae), principalmente, durante o período seco do ano, as pessoas são mais incomodadas pelos maruins pela parte da manhã das 5:00 as 9:00h e menos intensamente no período da tarde a partir das 16:00h e se estendendo pela noite. Em Marapanim durante o período seco os maruins não causam problemas aos visitantes, pois a espécie mais abundante (C. maruim) ocorreu preferencialmente nos primeiros horários do dia e é restrita a áreas de mangue, porém esta causa ataques vorazes as pessoas que precisam entrar nos manguezais. Entretanto, os visitantes podem ter problemas no período chuvoso com a espécie C. phlebotomus, que ocorre também em áreas de praia; durante este estudo ocorreu em todos os meses de coleta em baixos números de exemplares, próximo ao mangue, sendo mais abundante em junho (início do período seco) e apresentou correlação positiva significativa com a umidade do ar. A coleção de Invertebrados do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi foi enriquecida com o material deste trabalho, acondicionado em lâminas e em pequenos tubos de ensaio. / The dipterous family Ceratopogonidae has 125 genera and approximately 5360 species, 205 of which are extinct. More than 1400 species of Culicoides are known worldwide, and these are among the smallest blood-sucking flies in the world, measuring one to three mm in length. Some 96% of these species are obligate blood feeders on mammals (including human) and birds, and they are important vectors of human and animal viroses. Inspite of their epidemiological importance, few studies have been made of the biting behaviour and general ecology of Brazilian ceratopogonid specíes. This study surveyed the ceratopogonid species in two coastal areas of Pará State in northern Brazil, with reference to the hotus of the day when humans were bitten. The two coastal sampled were: the city of Marapanim on the northeastern Atlantic coast of Pará and Outeiro, a district of Belém on the Pará River estuary. Collections were made monthly between April and October 2003, using human bait and CDC traps. In total, 4083 specimes of Ceratopogonidae of 29 species in six genera were collected, 620 (21 species in five genera) from Outeiro and 3463 specimes (9 species in 4 genera) from Maripanim. The two faunae were seen to be sufficiently different from one another Leptoconops brasiliensis was the only species common to both sites. In Outeiro, the most abundant species were Culicoides batesi and C. denisae while in Marapanim these were C. maruim and C. phkbotomus. C. crucifèr and C. daviesi were collected in Outeiro and are registered for the first time fmm Brazil. C. denisae, C. phkbotomus and L. brasiliensis are reported for the first time for the state of Pará. In Outeiro, a significant negative correlation was found between air temperature and biting activity of C. batesi, C. cructfer and C. paramaruim. A significam positive correlation was found for biting activity and air relative humidity. In Marapanim, C. maruim biting activity showed a significant negative correlation with air temperature and significant positive with the air relative. The collected material, mounted on slides or in specimen tubes, is deposited in the Invertebrate Collection of the Museum Paranese Emílio Goeldi, Belém, Brazil.