Neotropical Ceratopogonidae, Diptera, Insecta (Aquatic Biodiversity in Latin America)

199 Pages·2007·3.13 MB·English

by  Art Borkent

A B L A
quatic iodiversity in atin merica ABLA
Biodiversidad Acuática en América Latina
Vol. 4
FOR MANY YEARS, STUDENTS FROM NUMEROUS COUNTRIES HAVE COMPLAINED N
ABOUT THE LACK OF “TOOLS” TO IDENTIFY AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES FROM e
o
LATIN AMERICA. KEYS FOUND IN ACCEPTED TEXTBOOKS ARE MOSTLY LIMITED, tr
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SUPERFICIAL OR TOO POPULAR-SCIENCE. ON THE OTHER HAND, MORE ADVAN- p
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CED KEYS IN ACADEMIC BOOKS ON AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES FAIL TO COVER c
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NEOTROPICAL REPRESENTATIVES IN DUE DETAIL.THE FEW THAT DO,HOWEVER, A l
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ALSO SHOW TOO MANY DEFECTS IN SCOPE AND PRESENTATION TO BE CONSID- t B e
ERED UP-TO-DATE. o ra
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AN INTERNATIONAL TEAM OF EDITORS COMBINED THEIR EFFORTS WITH en op
t
PENSOFT PUBLISHERS TO LAUNCH A NEW MAJOR SERIES ON THE AQUATIC BIODI- & o
g
VERSITY IN LATIN AMERICA. ABOUT 15 MONOGRAPHS, WRITTEN BY SCIENTISTS G o
FROM VARIOUS COUNTRIES, WILL OFFER A NEW, UNRIVALLED VIEW OF THE MAR- usta nid
VELLOUS AQUATIC WORLD OF SOUTH AMERICA! vo a
THE SERIES IS ADDRESSED TO ZOOLOGISTS, ECOLOGISTS, HYDROBIOLOGISTS, R. e (
S D
BIOGEOGRAPHERS, CONSERVATIONISTS AND STUDENTS INTERESTED IN AQUATIC p
in i
BIODIVERSITY. THE SERIES WILL BE AN IMMINENT TOOL FOR ANY BIOLOGICAL e p
LIBRARY. lli ter
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:
Volume 4 I
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This book brings together, for the first time, all known information on the e
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51 genera and 1095 described Neotropical species of biting midges. An t
a
overview of the group includes a discussion of bionomics, adaptations of the )
various life stages, habitats, their ecological roles (including disease transmis-
sion),collecting and preparation techniques,zoogeography and classification.A
key to adults (including males) provides the first key to all the genera of this
region. Limited keys to eggs and larvae are presented. Keys are written in both
English and Spanish. A table of all previous descriptions of immatures and a
catalog of all Neotropical species is included.
This book will be of interest to systematists, ecologists, medical entomolo-
gists and students wishing to undertake innovative research in a remarkably
interesting and instructive group of insects.
ABLA Vol. 4 – Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli: Neotropical Ceratopogonidae 1
Aquatic Biodiversity in Latin America
Biodiversidad Acuática en América Latina
Volume 4
Neotropical Ceratopogonidae (Diptera: Insecta)
Volumen 4
Neotropical Ceratopogonidae (Diptera: Insecta)
2 ABLA Vol. 4 – Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli: Ceratopogonidae Neotropicales
B A A L
IODIVERSIDAD CUÁTICA EN MÉRICA ATINA
Volumen 4
CERATOPOGONIDAE
NEOTROPICALES
(DIPTERA: INSECTA)
por
Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli
Lector Científico a los Editores:
William L. Grogan
Editores de la Serie:
Joachim Adis, Jorge R. Arias,
Guillermo Rueda-Delgado & Karl Matthias Wantzen
Sofia–Moscow
2007
ABLA Vol. 4 – Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli: Neotropical Ceratopogonidae 3
A B L A
QUATIC IODIVERSITY IN ATIN MERICA
Volume 4
NEOTROPICAL
CERATOPOGONIDAE
(DIPTERA: INSECTA)
by
Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli
Scientific Reader to the Editors:
William L. Grogan
Series Editors:
Joachim Adis, Jorge R. Arias,
Guillermo Rueda-Delgado & Karl Matthias Wantzen
Sofia–Moscow
2007
4 ABLA Vol. 4 – Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli: Ceratopogonidae Neotropicales
AQUATIC BIODIVERSITY IN LATIN AMERICA
BIODIVERSIDAD ACUÁTICA EN AMÉRICA LATINA
Series Editors/Editores de la Serie:
Joachim Adis, Jorge R. Arias, Guillermo Rueda-Delgado & Karl Matthias Wantzen
VOLUME 4. VOLUMEN 4.
NEOTROPICAL CERATOPOGONIDAE CERATOPOGONIDAE NEOTROPICALES
(DIPTERA: INSECTA) (DIPTERA: INSECTA)
by por
Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli
Scientific Reader to the Editors: Lector Científico a los Editores:
William L. Grogan William L. Grogan
Front cover:
Female Forcipomyia (Microhelea) sp. feeding on phasmid antenna (Chlorosphasma sp.)
in Costa Rica; Amazon River near Manaus
(photos: P. Naskrecki, WJ. Junk; design: Zheko Aleksiev & Elke Bustorf).
Aquatic Biodiversity in Latin America Vol. 4
ISSN: 1312-7276
First published 2007
ISBN-13: 978-954-642-301-6
The book should be cited as follows:
Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli. 2007. Neotropical Ceratopogonidae (Diptera: Insecta).
In: Adis, J., Arias, J.R., Rueda-Delgado, G. & K.M. Wantzen (Eds.):
Aquatic Biodiversity in Latin America (ABLA). Vol. 4. Pensoft, Sofia-Moscow, 198 pp.
© PENSOFT Publishers
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.
Pensoft Publishers
Geo Milev Str. 13a, Sofia 1111, Bulgaria
[email protected]
www.pensoft.net
Printed in Bulgaria, June 2007
ABLA Vol. 4 – Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli: Neotropical Ceratopogonidae 5
Habitus of female Culicoides variipennis COQUILLETT
(Nearctic Region; from McALPINE et al., 1981).
6 ABLA Vol. 4 – Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli: Ceratopogonidae Neotropicales
AQUATIC BIODIVERSITY IN LATIN AMERICA
BIODIVERSIDAD ACUÁTICA EN AMÉRICA LATINA
Series Editors: Joachim Adis, Jorge R. Arias,
Guillermo Rueda-Delgado & Karl Matthias Wantzen
Biodiversity is a key word in science and global management schemes; however very few
people are able to identify the species and their ecology that make up “biodiversity”. For
many years, researchers and students from numerous countries complain about the lack of
“tools” to identify aquatic invertebrates from Latin America. Keys found in accepted
entomological textbooks are mostly highly limited, superficial and rarely cover Neotropical
biota in sufficient detail. On the other hand, specialized information on taxonomy or ecology
is scattered throughout the literature in many single publications.
An international team of editors have combined their efforts with Pensoft Publishers
to launch a new major series on the Aquatic Biodiversity of Latin America (ABLA). Their
goal was to find experts who combine the current state of knowledge in taxonomy and
ecology, in order to produce a concise and affordable handbook for each group. About 15
separate monographs, written by reference scientists from various countries will offer a
new, unrivalled view on the aquatic fauna of South America. Information on the ecology
and status of the taxa (written in English) is combined with illustrated identification keys to
families and genera, in both English and Spanish. The series is aimed at zoologists, ecologists,
hydrobiologists, biogeographers, conservationists and students interested in aquatic
biodiversity. The series will be an essential tool for any biological library.
Volume 1: Amazon Fish Parasites (Second edition) by Vernon E. Thatcher.
Pensoft Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, ISBN-10: 954-642-258-4, ISBN-13: 978-954-642-
258-3, 165x240 mm, 508 pp., including 194 plates of figures in line drawings and
photos (15 plates in color); publication date: March 2006.
Volume 2: Ephemeroptera of South America by Eduardo Domínguez, Carlos Molineri,
Manuel L. Pescador, Michael D. Hubbard & Carolina Nieto.
Pensoft Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, ISBN-10: 954-642-259-2, ISBN-13: 978-954-642-
259-0, 165x240 mm, 646 pp., including 234 plates of figures in line drawings and
photos (16 plates in color); publication date: May 2006.
ABLA Vol. 4 – Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli: Neotropical Ceratopogonidae 7
Volume 3: Neotropical Simuliidae (Diptera: Insecta) by Sixto Coscarón & Cecilia L.
Coscarón Arias.
Pensoft Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, ISBN-13: 978-954-642-293-4, 165x240 mm, 685
pp., including 135 plates of figures in line drawings and 19 maps of distribution;
publication date: March 2007.
Volume 4: Neotropical Ceratopogonidae (Diptera: Insecta) by Art Borkent & Gustavo
R. Spinelli.
Pensoft Publishers, Sofia-Moscow, ISBN-13: 978-954-642-301-6, 165x240 mm, 198 pp.,
including 26 plates of figures in line drawings and photos; publication date: June 2007.
Ceratopogonidae are found in virtually every habitat with even a small amount of sustained
moisture, are notorious as severe pests of man and domestic animals, and are one of the
most common fly families in traps. Yet they are by far the most poorly understood of all
the biting flies. In part, this is due to their remarkably diversity, both in numbers of species
and in their various adaptations. Larvae range from being detritivores and scavengers to
predators and adult females of various species feed on a wide array of vertebrates and
invertebrates. Some females draw blood from conspecific males while they are mating.
Adults are also important pollinators of a wide array of plants.
This book brings together, for the first time, all known information on the 51 genera
and 1095 described Neotropical species of biting midges. An overview of the group includes
a discussion of bionomics, adaptations of the various life stages, habitats, their ecological
roles (including disease transmission), collecting and preparation techniques, zoogeography
and classification. A key to adults (including males) provides the first key to all the genera
of this region. Limited keys to eggs and larvae are presented. Keys are written in both
English and Spanish. A table of all previous descriptions of immatures and a catalog of all
Neotropical species is included.
This book will be of interest to systematists, ecologists, medical entomologists and
students wishing to undertake innovative research in a remarkably interesting and instructive
group of insects.
8 ABLA Vol. 4 – Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli: Ceratopogonidae Neotropicales
ADDRESSES
Authors:
DR. ART BORKENT M.Sc. GUILLERMO RUEDA-DELGADO
691-8th Avenue SE Grupo de Investigación en Cuencas y
Salmon Arm, British Columbia V1E 2C2 Humedales Tropicales GICHT
Canada UNIMAGADALENA
e-mail: [email protected] Universidad de Bogotá Jorge Tadeo Lozano
Laboratorio de Limnología
DR. GUSTAVO R. SPINELLI Carrera 4 No. 22-61
Divisíon Entomologia Bogotá, D.C., Colombia
Museo de La Plata e-mail: [email protected]
Paseo Del Bosque s/n
1900 La Plata, Argentina DR. KARL MATTHIAS WANTZEN
e-mail: [email protected] Institute of Limnology
University of Konstanz
Series Editors: Postfach M 659
PROF. DR. JOACHIM ADIS 78457 Konstanz, Germany
Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary e-mail: [email protected]
Biology
Tropical Ecology Working Group Scientific Reader to the Editors:
Postfach 165 DR. WILLIAM L. GROGAN
24302 Plön, Germany Department of Biological Sciences
e-mail: [email protected] Salisbury University
Salisbury, Maryland 21801-6837
DR. JORGE R. ARIAS e-mail: [email protected]
5870 Colfax Avenue
Alexandria, Virginia 22311, USA
e-mail: [email protected]
ABLA Vol. 4 – Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli: Neotropical Ceratopogonidae 9
FOREWORD
Neotropical Ceratopogonidae (Diptera: Insecta)
by Art Borkent & Gustavo R. Spinelli
The Ceratopogonidae are a large and diverse family of small, mostly crepuscular flies
commonly known as biting midges. Though biting midge species are known as vicious
biters of humans and domestic animals in many areas, some of the most vivid descriptions
of these encounters have come from the Neotropical region. Even the intrepid Victorian
naturalist Alfred Russell Wallace, writing near the headwaters of the Rio Negro on the
Brazil-Venezuelan border, found them to be intolerable:
“I was…exposed to the pest of the sand-flies, which, every afternoon, from four
to six, swarm in millions, causing by their bites on the face, ears and hands, the
most painful irritation.”
The sheer numbers of biting midges in many areas continue to circumvent the advance
of agriculture and tourism in the Neotropics. In addition, some ceratopogonid species are
known to vector important viruses (e.g., Oropouche) and filarial nematodes (e.g., Dipetalonema
spp.) to humans. Though it comes as little consolation to those who have experienced an
onslaught by biting midges, most species in the Neotropics feed exclusively on the blood
of other insects. Nevertheless, to their credit, some ceratopogonids (species in the genus
Forcipomyia) serve as an important cacao pollinator, making a direct contribution to the
enjoyment of chocolate worldwide.
Although there have been many taxonomic papers published on Neotropical
Ceratopogonidae from the nineteenth century to the present, this volume represents the first
truly comprehensive work for the region because it includes all described taxa. The significance
of this work can not be overstated since approximately 20 percent of the World’s described
ceratopogonid species are treated in its 198 pages. Both authors have collected extensively in
Latin America and have authored or coauthored taxonomic and ecological papers about
ceratopogonid species from the region, many of which included descriptions of new species.
I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting Art Borkent and Gustavo Spinelli. Both are
professional systematists with an infectious enthusiasm for the study of ceratopogonids. Both
have extensive contacts in many countries of Central and South America and have trained
parataxonomists to assist them (e.g., through the National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) in
Costa Rica). Both are advocates of continued biodiversity studies in the Neotropics towards
the conservation and sustainable use of the numerous species which inhabit the region.
In addition to their comprehensive, well-illustrated keys to the adults, eggs and larvae
of Neotropical genera, the authors have included important chapters on the bionomics of