Some New Records of Culicoides Species (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from Iran

BACKGROUND Biting midges of the genus Culicoides act as vectors for important diseases affecting humans and both wild and domestic animals. Collection of adult Culicoides specimens in the near vicinity of vertebrate hosts is the major part of any bluetongue surveillance plan. There are old records of Culicoides species dated from 1963, 1968 and 1975. Therefore, it was decided to collect different ceratopogonids members using a light trap. METHODS One night catching using light traps with a suction fan was performed at representative sites (25 places) located in North Western Provinces (Ardebil, Eastern Azerbaijan, Western Azerbaijan and Zanjan) of Iran (suspected farms for clinical records of Bluetongue virus or serodiagnosis of the Bluetongue virus). Samples were detected and identified primarily and were sent to a reference center for final verification. RESULTS Seven Culicoides species including (Culicoides circumscriptus, C. flavidus, C. longipennis, C. pulicaris, C. puncatatus, C. nubeculosus, and three species from Culicoides (Oecacta) are under study in reference laboratory in Poland and C. puncticollis were confirmed from Iran. CONCLUSION Morphological and explanation of each species was regarded in this study. In comparison to old record, there are four new records of Culicoides species from Iran and one species is regarded suspected for viral transmission.