Ornithophilic vectors of avian hematozoa in insular Newfoundland

Abstract

Ornithophilic vectors of avian hematozoa on the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland, were determined to be Simulium latipes and S. aureum for Leucocytozoon, Culicoides stilobezzioides for Haemoproteus, and possibly, on circumstantial evidence, Aedes punctor for Plasmodium. Simuliids and ceratopogonids were captured following attraction to bird bait most frequently at heights of 3–4 m in the forest canopy, in the evening, during July and August. Vector density was extremely low when compared to elsewhere in North America, but the highly efficient host–vector–parasite relationship maintained a high prevalence of blood parasites in the bird population.