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Background  Biting midges of the genus  Culicoides  (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) exert a significant impact on animal agriculture worldwide because they transmit bluetongue virus (BTV) and epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) to ruminants. Without effective vaccines, BTV/EHDV vector management strategies are needed, particularly in commercial white-tailed deer (WTD) facilities. However, detailed information on the ecology of midge immatures in/around cervid operations is currently lacking. Towards filling this knowledge gap, we conducted two-choice oviposition experiments with field-collected  Culicoides stellifer  Coquillett (a suspected vector of BTV/EHDV in the USA) under laboratory conditions to examine which natural source from the larval habitat is relatively more attractive for midge oviposition.    Methods  Field-collected  C. stellifer  females (CDC-UV light traps) were given a blood meal from live chicken and examined for their oviposition preferences for individual (or mixed) potential larval habitat oviposition stimuli in two-choice bioassays. Substrates included mud from  C. stellifer  habitat, mud from allopatric site, vegetation ( Sphagnum  spp. mosses), field water, WTD manure and de-ionized water (control).    Results  The majority of midges (91%) oviposited in only one dish, with few females (9%) ovipositing in both the dishes. Gravid females demonstrated an overall oviposition preference for substrates with mud and vegetation from the larval habitat, depositing a significantly higher proportion of eggs on mud (52.3%) and vegetation (81.8%) than on controls (≤ 18.2%) ( P  ≤ 0.0320). Moreover, greater number of eggs per female were deposited on mud (29.5–40.7 depending on trial) and vegetation (38.2) than on controls (≤ 5.8). WTD manure, field water and mud from allopatric site were not found to be more attractive than controls for oviposition. Combining individual substrates (mud + WTD manure; mud + moss + WTD manure + field water) did not elicit greater oviposition responses than mud or moss alone.    Conclusions  Management strategies to discourage  C. stellifer  oviposition in/around commercial cervid facilities should likely focus on mud and/or vegetation, rather than WTD manure. However, further studies are needed to examine whether the spatial distributions of  C. stellifer  and  Sphagnum  spp. moss are correlated, and to determine whether targeting vegetation in/around cervid facilities can contribute to reductions in local midge densities.    Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (10.1186/s13071-018-2891-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

parasites and vectors

Laboratory studies on the oviposition stimuli of Culicoides stellifer (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), a suspected vector of Orbiviruses in the United States