Understanding the feeding preferences of haematophagous insects is critical to depicting the amplification and transmission networks of pathogens and identifying key vector species for surveillance programs. In the case of species from genus Culicoides, many of which are important vectors of pathogens causing animal diseases, information from molecular studies on the feeding habits of females i...

During the culling of elephants (Loxodonta africana) at five sites in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, a total of 682 Culicoides of five species of the subgenus Avaritia were found live either behind the ears of elephants or attracted to the freshly disembowelled intestinal dung of elephants. The species are Culicoides tororoensis Khamala & Kettle, 1971; C. kanagai Khamala & Kettle, 1971...

In most instances, vaccination is accepted to be the most effective method of preventing Culicoides-borne arbovirus transmission, as it has proven to be successful in large-scale campaigns. Under certain scenarios, however, vaccines require time to be developed and deployed or are not used due to financial, logistical or trade constraints. In the absence of vaccines, animal movement restriction...

A checklist of the subgenus Culicoides (Avaritia Fox) (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae: Culicoides) in China, currently including 57 species, is provided. Their full citations, more detailed locations of the type locality, and distribution of each species by province, and/or state of each species are also provided. Culicoides (Avaritia) fenggangensis Liu & Hou, sp. n. is described and illustrated, bas...

Salivary proteins of hematophagous Culicoides spp. are thought to play an important role in pathogen transmission and skin hypersensitivity. Analysis of these proteins, however, has been problematic due to the difficulty in obtaining adequate amounts of secreted Culicoides saliva. In the current study, a collection method for midge saliva was developed. Over a 3-d period, 3- to 5-d-old male and...

Altogether 52 078 Culicoides biting midges of 35 species were collected during February 1990 and 1993 in 40 light-trap collections made on 17 cattle and/or sheep farms in the Bethlehem and Fouriesburg districts of the colder, high-lying eastern Orange Free State. Culicoides (Avaritia) bolitinos was by far the most abundant species, representing 50.9% of all specimens collected. Culicoides (A.) ...

BACKGROUND The recent unprecedented emergence of arboviruses transmitted by Culicoides biting midges in northern Europe has necessitated the development of techniques to differentiate competent vector species. At present these techniques are entirely reliant upon interpretation of semi-quantitative RT-PCR (sqPCR) data in the form of Cq values used to infer the presence of viral RNA in samples. ...

Culicoides oxystoma (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) is an important vector species, reported mainly from Asia, with high potential to transmit viral diseases affecting livestock. In Japan, many arboviruses have been isolated from C. oxystoma, suggesting it as a key player in the epidemiology of several Culicoides-borne diseases. Over the years, C. oxystoma has also been reported in the Middle East r...

How to cite this article: Venter, G.J., Labuschagne, K., Boikanyo, S.N.B. & Morey, L., 2014, ‘Assessment of the repellent effect of citronella and lemon eucalyptus oil against South African Culicoides species’, Journal of the South African Veterinary Association 85(1), Art. #992, 5 pages. http://dx.doi. org/10.4102/jsava.v85i1.992 The use of insect repellents to reduce the attack rate of Culico...

Several pathogens are known to be transmitted by arthropods. One of the most relevant, in economic terms, affecting animals is bluetongue virus. Its vectors several species Culicoides midges. In Europe, considered main vector imicola and obsoletus, though other may implicated at different levels. present work, activity these between sunset sunrise from May November analyzed according their capt...