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Summer seasonal prevalence of Culicoides species from pre‐alpine areas in Switzerland
Author(s) -
Paslaru A. I.,
Torgerson P. R.,
Veronesi E.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
medical and veterinary entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2915
pISSN - 0269-283X
DOI - 10.1111/mve.12500
Subject(s) - voltinism , ceratopogonidae , culicoides , biology , ecology , veterinary medicine , zoology , larva , medicine
Biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are arthropods of veterinary importance since they can transmit pathogens and cause severe allergic dermatitis in horses. Very little is known about the species at higher altitudes and their seasonal dynamics. In this work, adult Culicoides were collected with Onderstepoort UV‐light suction traps (OVI) from June to September 2016 at two areas situated at around 1600 m asl (pre‐alpine area I, 2 farms) and 2030 m asl (pre‐alpine area II, 1 farm) in the Canton of Grisons (south‐east Switzerland). Overall, 17 049 Culicoides were collected, including 871 parous females. A total of 50 individuals/trap/night (n = 1050) were identified to species (17 species) by matrix‐assisted laser desorption/ionization time‐of‐flight mass spectrometry (MALDI‐TOF MS) or by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and sequencing. The remaining 15 128 Culicoides were classified to species groups' level. Culicoides obsoletus (Meigen, 1818), a multivoltine species, was mainly present at 1600 m asl, whereas at high altitudes (2030 m asl), C. grisescens Edwards, 1939 I&II were the most abundant species. In particular, C. grisescens II , which seems to be univoltine, occurred later in the season but significantly increasing over time. Species diversity was higher at pre‐alpine I area (n = 16 species) compared to pre‐alpine II (n = 10 species).