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Background  Molecular studies have suggested that the true diversity of  Leucocytozoon  (Apicomplexa: Haemospororida) species well exceeds the approximately 35 currently described taxa. Further, the degree of host-specificity may vary substantially among lineages. Parasite distribution can be influenced by the ability of the parasite to infect a host, vector preferences for certain avian hosts, or other factors such as microhabitat requirements that increase the probability that vertebrate hosts and vectors are in frequent contact with each other. Whereas most studies of haemosporidians have focused on passerine hosts, sampling vectors in the same habitats may allow the detection of other lineages affecting other hosts.    Methods  We sampled abundant, ornithophilic black flies (Simuliidae) across a variety of sites and habitats in the Colorado Rocky Mountains throughout the summer of 2007. Black flies were screened with PCR using  Leucocytozoon -specific primers that amplify a portion of the cytochrome  b  gene, and the sequences were compared to the haplotypes in the MalAvi database. Infections of  Leucocytozoon  from birds sampled in the same area were also included.    Results  We recovered 33 unique haplotypes from the black flies in this study area, which represented a large phylogenetic diversity of  Leucocytozoon  parasites. However, there were no clear patterns of avian host species or geography for the distribution of  Leucocytozoon  haplotypes in the phylogeny.    Conclusions  Sampling host-seeking vectors is a useful way to obtain a wide variety of avian haemosporidian haplotypes from a given area and may prove useful for understanding the global patterns of host, parasite, and vector associations of these ubiquitous and diverse parasites.    Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-015-0952-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

parasites and vectors

Molecular analyses on host-seeking black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) reveal a diverse assemblage of Leucocytozoon (Apicomplexa: Haemospororida) parasites in an alpine ecosystem