Descriptions of the adults and pupa of Culicoides hildae n. sp. from the Republic of South Africa (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae).

CORNET, M. & NEVILL, E. M., 1979. Descriptions of the adults and pupa of Cu/icoides hildae n. sp. from the Republic of South Africa (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research, 46, 179-184 (1979). A new species of biting midge, Culicoides hildae, is described from males, females and pupal exuviae collected in the Orange Free State, Republic of South Africa. Resume DESCRIPTION DES STADES ADULTES ET NYMPHAL DE CULICOIDES HILDAE N. SP., DE LA REPUBLIQUE D'AFRIQUE DU SUD (DIPTERA: CERATOPOGONIDAE) Une nouvelle espece de cousin piquant Culicoides hildae, est decrite a partir de males, de femelles et de mues nymphales recoltes dans I'Etat Libre d'Orange de Ia Republique d'Afrique du Sud. INTRODUCTION During an arbovirus survey conducted near the area that was soon to be flooded by the giant H. F. Verwoerd dam on the Orange River, light traps were operated in early 1969 and 1970 by Drs B. M. Mcintosh and P. G. Jupp of the National Institute for Virology. The Culicoides midges that were collected were submitted to the junior author (E.M.N.) and amongst them were a few specimens of an unusual species with a wing pattern which superficially resembled those of Culicoides pycnostictus Ingram & Macfie, 1925 and Culicoides distinctipennis Austen, 1912 (Fig. 3). To locate the breeding places of this species, the junior author visited the farm on which the light traps had been operating and successfully sampled all likely breeding places for Cu/icoides pupae. The terminology and morphological characters used in the description of the adults follow those of Cornet (1974). The terminology used to describe the pupa follows that given by Kettle & Elson (1975). MATERIAL EXAMINED Two females and 5 males emerged from pupae collected on 29 October 1969 from mud bordering a small pool created by the overflow and leakage from a windmill-fed reservoir and a stock drinking-trough on the farm "Soetvlei" (30°38'S 25°53'E) near Bethulie, Orange Free State, Republic of South Africa. One of these males is the designated holotype. A further 8 males and 2 females were collected with a light trap on the same farm by B. M. Mcintosh and P. G. Jupp in January and March 1969 and in March 1970. The holotype ( 5' No. 3769 /69290), 3 paratypes ( d' No. 3768/69288, ~ No. 3767/69286, ~ No. 3766/69287) and their separately mounted pupal exuviae are deposited at Services Scientifiques Centraux de l'O.R.S.T.O.M., 70-74 Route d'Aulnay, 93140 BONDY, France. The remaining paratypes, deposited at the Veterinary Research Institute, Onderstepoort 0110, Republic of South Africa, include slide-mounted 5' No. 3765/69277, 5' No. 3770/69291, 5' No. 3763/69292 and their separately mounted pupal exuviae, slide-mounted female ~ No. 3764/7050, and 8 males and 1 female in alcohol. This species is named after Hilda Nevill who, from 1969-1971, painstakingly mounted most of the Culicoides specimens in the Onderstepoort collection, identified the Culicoides species of the Orange River Survey and discovered the new species described here. DESCRIPTION All measurements are in microns (FLm) Female: (Fig. lA, B, C, D) Head.-Eyes bare, widely separated (Fig. 1 C); interocular seta in a cell delimited by 2 internal thickenings, the posterior one thick, and the anterior one weak. Antenna: torus dark brown, flagellum lighter. Basal segments ovoid, terminal ones long and cylindrical. Total length: 692; IA=0,80; XI/X= l ,97. Palpus (Fig. 1B): longer than the proboscis, with the 3rd segment considerably swollen ; sensory pit very wide, but shallow. Proboscis: shorter than head in the ratio 0 , 73:1; mouthparts with the usual teeth; cibarium unarmed. Thorax.-Colour not observed on dry specimens; in alcohol it is dark brown, with lighter scutellum. Antenna! segments: ~ III I IV I v I VI I VII I VIII I IX I X I XI I XII I XIII I XIV I XV Length ... .... . ... . .. .. .. .. . 57 34 34 34 Width ... . . . ..... .. . ... ..... 39 27 26 26 Sensilla coeloconica .. ...... .. 14/12 0 0 0 Long sensilla trichodea .. .. . . . 2 2 2 2 Short sensilla trichodea . ... .. .. 0 2 2 2 (1) Medical Officer in the French Army, Medical Entomologist at Office de Ia Recherche et Technique Outre-Mer; Present address: Services Scientifiques Centraux de l'O.R.S.T.O.M., 70-74 Routed' Aulnay, 93140 BONDY, France ( 2 ) Veterinary Research Institute, Onderstepoort 0110 Received 2 October 1979-Editor 33 33 26 25 0/1 0