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Background    Haemoproteus  parasites are widespread, and some species cause disease in wild and domestic birds. However, the insect vectors remain unknown for the majority of species and genetic lineages of avian  Haemoproteus . This information is crucial for better understanding the biology of haemoproteids, the epidemiology of haemoproteosis, and the development of morphological characters of sporogonic stages in wildlife haemosporidian parasites. It remains unclear whether the specificity of  Haemoproteus  parasites for vectors is broad or the transmission of a given parasite can be restricted to a single or few species of vectors. The aim of this study was to examine the sporogonic development of four species of common European avian haemoproteids in the common biting midge  Culicoides impunctatus.Methods  Wild-caught females of  C. impunctatus  were infected experimentally by allowing them to take blood meals on naturally infected  Muscicapa striata ,  Cyanistes caeruleus ,  Ficedula hypoleuca  and  Motacilla flava  harbouring mature gametocytes of  Haemoproteus balmorali  (genetic lineage hSFC9),  H .  majoris  (hPARUS1),  H .  motacillae  (hYWT1) and  H. pallidus  (hPFC1), respectively. Infected insects were collected, maintained under laboratory conditions and dissected daily in order to detect the development of ookinetes, oocysts and sporozoites. Microscopic examination and polymerase chain reaction based methods were used to detect the parasites. Bayesian analysis was applied to identify phylogenetic relationships among  Haemoproteus  lineages.    Results  All investigated parasites completed sporogony in  C. impunctatus , indicating broad susceptibility of this biting midge for numerous  Haemoproteus  parasites. Ookinetes, oocysts and sporozoites were reported, described and compared morphologically. The investigated parasite species can be distinguished at the sporogony stage, particularly with regards to the morphology and rate of development of mature ookinetes. Analysis of data from the literature, and this study, shows that 12 genetically distantly related  Haemoproteus  parasites complete sporogony in  C. impunctatus .    Conclusions  Susceptibility of  C. impunctatus  is broad for  Haemoproteus  parasites, indicating that this biting midge is an important natural vector of numerous species of avian haemoproteids in Europe. Some  Haemoproteus  species can be readily distinguished using morphological characters of ookinetes and sporozoites, as well as the rate of ookinete development. These characters can be used for the identification of  Haemoproteus  species during sporogony in vectors, and are worth more attention in these parasite taxonomy studies at the species levels.    Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13071-017-2317-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

The widespread biting midge Culicoides impunctatus (Ceratopogonidae) is susceptible to infection with numerous Haemoproteus (Haemoproteidae) species