Abstract
Background. Culicoides midges have been well-studied in Spain, particularly over the last 20 years, mainly because of their role as vectors of arboviral diseases that affect livestock. Most studies on Culicoidesare conducted using suction light traps in farmed environments, but studies employing alternative trapping techniques or focusing on natural habitats are scarce.
Methods. In the present study, we analyzed Culicoides captured in 2023 at 476 sites in western Andalusia (southern Spain) using carbon dioxide-baited BG-sentinel traps across different ecosystems.
Results. We collected 3,084 Culicoides midges (3,060 females and 24 males) belonging to 23 species, including the new species Culicoides grandifovea sp. nov. and the first record of Culicoides pseudolangeroni for Europe. Both species were described with morphological and molecular methods and detailed data on spatial distribution was also recorded. The new species showed close phylogenetic relations with sequences from an unidentified Culicoides from Morocco (92.6% similarity) and with Culicoides kurensis. Culicoides imicola was the most abundant species (17.4 %), followed by Culicoides grandifovea sp. nov. (14.6 %), and Culicoides kurensis (11.9 %). Interestingly, Culicoides montanus was the only species of the Obsoletus and Pulicaris species complexes captured, representing the first record of this species in southern Spain. A total of 53 valid Culicoides species have been reported in the area, 48 already reported in literature records and 5 more added in the present study. Information on the flight period for the most common Culicoides species is also provided.
Conclusions. To the best of our knowledge, our study represents the most comprehensive effort ever done on non-farmland habitats using carbon-dioxide baited suction traps for collecting Culicoides. Our data suggests that using carbon dioxide traps offers a completely different perspective on Culicoides communities compared to commonly used light traps, including the discovery of previously unrecorded species.