An updated list of the Culicoides (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae) fauna from Ecuador

Abstract

An updated list of biting midges of the genus Culicoides inhabiting Ecuador is provided. Entomological investigations were carried out from July 2010 to May 2019 using CDC light traps in three Ecuadorian regions (Amazon basin, Andean (foothills and highlands) and Pacific Coast). A total of 12,073 Culicoides specimens from seven subgenera and nine species groups were collected. More species and higher variation were found in the Amazon basin than in either of the Andes regions or coastal sites. A total of 53 species were identified. Of these, 15 are herein reported as new species records for Ecuador: Culicoides acotylus Lutz, C. aitkeni Wirth & Blanton, C. benarrochi Ortiz & Mirsa, C. carvalhoi Wirth & Blanton, C. freitasi Wirth & Blanton, C. ginesi Ortíz, C. lopesi Barretto, C. lyrinotatus Wirth & Blanton, C. profundus Santarém, Felippe-Bauer & Trindade, C. pseudoreticulatus Santarém, Felippe-Bauer & Castellón, C. quasiparaensis Clastrier, C. vernoni Wirth & Blanton, C. youngi Wirth & Barreto and two new species. Our results show that the updated list of the Ecuadorian Culicoides fauna comprises 70 species. This inventory highlights the presence of species that have been incriminated as vectors of disease elsewhere in animals and humans, mainly C. insignis and C. paraensis.