English (United Kingdom)

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/featured_content/oa?rat=en

https://curated-unify.zendy.io/wp-json/zendy-region/v1/highlighted_journal/

Global: Zendy Plus annual

Presents the access of premium content as premium feature

Premium Content

Presents the keyphrase highlighting as premium feature

Keyphrase Highlighting

Presents the summarisation as premium feature

Summarisation

Insights

Presents the pdf analysis as premium feature

PDF Analysis

Presents the zaia usage as premium feature

ZAIA

Global: Zendy Tools annual

Global: Zendy Free Plan

Global: Zendy Tools monthly

Global: Zendy Plus monthly

Background   Culicoides obsoletus  ( s.l. ) is the most abundant  Culicoides  species in northern Europe and an important vector of bluetongue virus and Schmallenberg virus. Nevertheless, information on its subadult life stages remains scarce and no laboratory-reared colony exists.    Methods   C.   obsoletus  ( s.l. ) adults were collected in Belgium and transferred to the laboratory in an attempt to establish a laboratory-reared colony.  C. obsoletus  ( s.l. ) were reared from eggs to adults at different temperatures (28 °C, 24 °C, 20/16 °C) and under different food regimes.    Results  The most suitable temperature for rearing seemed to be 24 °C for most developmental parameters, but resulted in a biased 3:1 male/female sex ratio. The latter could be optimized to a 1:1 sex ratio when a 20/16 °C day/night temperature gradient was applied, but rearing at these low temperature conditions resulted in significantly lower egg hatching and pupation rates and a longer subadult development time. Independent of the rearing temperature, adding dung as an additional food source during larval development resulted in a significantly higher adult emergence rate and a decrease in subadult development time. Furthermore, blood-feeding rates of field-collected  C. obsoletus  ( s.l. ) were compared for different blood sources and feeding systems. The overall blood-feeding success was low and only successful with cotton pledgets (2.7% blood-fed midges) and through a membrane system with chicken skin (3.5% blood-fed midges). Higher feeding rates were obtained on cattle blood compared to sheep blood.    Conclusions  These results will help us to determine the necessary conditions to rear a viable laboratory colony of this important vector species, although further optimization is still required.    Graphical abstract

parasites and vectors

Temperature and food sources influence subadult development and blood-feeding response of Culicoides obsoletus (sensu lato) under laboratory conditions