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Background  Haemosporidians are the most important vector-borne parasites due to their cosmopolitan distribution and their wide range of hosts, including humans. Identification of their vectors is critical to highlight ecologically and epidemiologically relevant features such as host specificity or transmission routes. Biting midges of the genus  Culicoides  are considered the main vectors of  Haemoproteus  spp., yet important information on aspects such as vector feeding preferences or vector-host specificity involving haemosporidian parasites is frequently missing.    Methods  We assessed the abundance of  Culicoides circumscriptus  and  C. paolae  and blood sources of the latter at the nests of cavity-nesting bird species (mainly the European roller  Coracias garrulus ) and in their surroundings. We also explored the prevalence and genetic diversity of avian haemosporidians in parous females of both species.    Results  Both  C. circumscriptus  and  C. paolae  were abundant in the study area and common at European roller nests.  Culicoides paolae  had a diverse ornithophilic diet, feeding on at least seven bird species. Human DNA was also detected in the blood meal of some individuals. Four  Haemoproteus  lineages, including a new one reported here for the first time, were isolated from parous females of both biting midges.    Conclusions   Culicoides circumscriptus  and  C. paolae  can play a locally important role in the transmission dynamics of  Haemoproteus  parasites in a community of cavity-nesting bird species in an arid ecosystem.

Culicoides paolae and C. circumscriptus as potential vectors of avian haemosporidians in an arid ecosystem