Chironomids (Diptera: Chironomidae; non-biting midges) are known to be carriers of the Vibrio cholerae bacterium, responsible for the fatal cholera disease in humans. It was recently discovered that chironomid females choose their oviposition site by a visual cue. In this study, we test the hypothesis that this visual cue is the linear polarization of light reflected from the water surface. We ...

To elucidate the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases that can affect livestock in the Mediterranean Basin and elsewhere, it is essential to obtain a clear understanding of the life-cycle and habits of the vector insects involved. One purpose of such investigations is to provide data for an epidemiological surveillance system. As this depends heavily upon the collection of specimens in the fie...

Culicoides spp. in the Lowveld of the northern Transvaal, Republic of South Africa, were fed bluetongue virus serotypes 3 and 6 and African horsesickness virus serotype 1 through latex and chicken skin membranes. After an incubation period of 10 days at 25-27 degrees C, the infection rate of C. imicola for bluetongue virus serotypes 3 and 6 was established at 31% and 24% respectively. No Africa...

A new species from Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, Dasyhelea eloyi Díaz & Ronderos, is described, illustrated and photomicrograph as larva, pupa and male and female adults based on examination with binocular and scanning electron microscopes. This new species, a typical member of the Dasyhelea grisea species group, is compared with the most similar congeners D. necrophila Spinelli & Rodriguez and the...