Culicoides reticulatus Lutz

Santarém, Maria Clara Alves, Trindade, Rosimeire Lopes Da, Silva, Tiago Do Nascimento Da, Castellón, Eloy Guillermo, Patiu, Cátia Antunes De Mello & Felippe-Bauer, Maria Luiza, 2014, New Neotropical Culicoides and redescription of Culicoides reticulatus Lutz (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Zootaxa 3795 (3), pp. 255-274 : 257-259

Culicoides reticulatus Lutz , redescription

Figs. 1 A–K; Fig. 9

Culicoides reticulatus Lutz, 1913: 49 (female; Brazil - Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Bahia; fig. wing, male, larva; bionomy, larva in crab holes in mangrove edge; in part material from Bahia); Rieth, 1915: 417 (bionomics data, based on Lutz 1913); Costa Lima, 1937: 413 (key); Barbosa, 1943: 261 (male, female; Brazil - Pernambuco; figs. wing, palpus, male terminalia); Vargas, 1945: 43 (in list); Barbosa, 1947: 5, 25 (key, distrib.); Macfie, 1948: 73 (key); Vargas, 1949: 205 (in list); Ortiz, 1950: 464 (distrib.); Iriarte, 1950: 398 (in list); Fox, 1955: 254 (in list); Forattini, 1957: 432 (in neotropical catalog; figs.; in part specimens from Bahia and Pernambuco); Spinelli & Wirth, 1986: 56 (key, fig. wing); Wirth et al., 1988: 42 (in Atlas; fig. wing; distrib.; in part material from Brazil, not Pará); Borkent & Wirth, 1997: 80 (in catalog); Borkent & Spinelli, 2000: 41 (in catalog; distrib.; in part material from Bahia and Pernambuco); Borkent & Spinelli, 2007: 74 (in catalog; distrib. in part material from Bahia and Pernambuco); Borkent, 2014: 99 (in catalog).

Diagnosis. Female: This species is distinguished by the following combination of characters: large sized species; eyes separated by diameter of ½ ommatidium; palpus with shallow, rounded sensory pit in middle portion; PR 2.6–3.0 (n=6); proboscis long. Male: parameres stem, slightly sinuous in median portion, without ventral lobe; basal arch of aedeagus extending ½ of total length.

Female. Head. Brown. Eyes bare ( Fig.1 C), separated by a distance equal to a diameter of ½ ommatidium. Pedicel brown, flagellum ( Fig.1 D) pale brown; AR 1.0–1.4 (1.02, n=5); sensilla coeloconica on flagellomeres 1,6–8. Palpus ( Fig.1 F) brown; 3rd segment fusiform, slightly swollen in middle length, with a shallow, rounded sensory pit in middle portion; PR 2.6–3.0 (2.8, n=6). Proboscis long; P/H ratio 1.14–1.17 (1.16, n=4); mandible with 23–25 (n=4) teeth.

Thorax. Dark brown. Scutum without distinct pattern in slide mounted specimens. Wing ( Fig.1 A) with contrasting pattern: second radial cell including dark spot; pale spot over R-M extending from M1 to costal margin, subdivided; r3 with four small and separated pale spots: first, rounded, between the second radial cell and M1; second, poststigmatic extending behind second radial cell, abutting wing margin; third, in the middle of cell, rounded, smaller than second one; fourth, distal pale spot slightly reaching wing margin; m1 with two pale spots, the distal one far from wing margin and greater than the proximal one; m2 with four pale spots: one proximal, near CuA, two between the medial and mediocubital forks and a distal one not reaching the wing margin; cua1 with a rounded pale spot in the middle of cell; anal cell with a faint basal pale area and one distal pale spot near mediocubital fork; wing base with a faint pale spot on M; M1, M2 and CuA1 with pale apices; macrotrichia scarcely distributed on distal half of wing; wing length 1.30 (n=4) mm; breadth 0.57–0.59 (0.55, n=4) mm; CR 0.64 (n=4). Halter knob brown, stem pale. Legs ( Fig.1 G) mostly brown; femora with subapical pale bands, tibiae with subbasal pale bands; hind tibia pale apically; hind tibial comb with four spines, the one nearest the spur longest.

Abdomen. Brown. Two subequal ovoid spermathecae ( Fig. 1 E), measuring 46.4 µm (n=5) by 32.8 µm (n=4) and 43.5 µm (n=4) by 31 µm (n=2). Rudimentary third spermatheca present.

Male. Similar to female with usual sexual differences. AR 0.93 (n=1). Palpus ( Fig.1 H) with 3rd segment short, two round sensory pits; PR1.6 (n=1). Wing length 1.03 (n=1) mm, breadth 0.43 (n=1) mm, CR 0.63 (n=1), pattern of pale spots as in figure 1B. Terminalia ( Fig. 1 I): tergite 9 not observable in slide mounted specimen; sternite 9 straight on distal margin; gonocoxite 2x longer than greatest breadth, ventral and dorsal root slender, elongated; gonostylus tapering distally, distal portion slightly curved. Parameres ( Fig.1 K) separated, each with a sclerotized basal knob; stem long, curved near base and slightly sinuous in median portion, without ventral lobe; apical portion tapered, abruptly bent, without lateral fringe of spicules. Aedeagus ( Fig.1 J) Y-shaped, lateral arms strongly sclerotized, basal arch triangular extending ½ of total length; distal portion slender, tapering to blunt tip without median or distal processes.

Specimens examined. Type series, 1 male, 7 females on one microscope slide, labeled " Culicoides reticulatus Lutz, 1913 , Bahia, A. Lutz prep." (CCER n.2983- Costa Lima collection).

Distribution and bionomics. Culicoides reticulatus is now restricted to Brazilian states of Bahia and Pernambuco ( Fig. 9 ). It is associated to mangrove areas from these states and cited by Lutz (1913) biting human, horses and cow in the vicinity of these areas.

Discussion. Forattini et al (1960) captured larva and pupa of Culicoides in mangrove areas and described them as C. reticulatus without correlation with adult stage. Due to incertitude if this description is related to C. reticulatus Lutz , we don't consider it herein.

In this study, all material identified as C. reticulatus from the Amazon region (Amazonas, Pará and Roraima States) present important differences from C. reticulatus Lutz and, constitutes five new species as described below. Then, we think that the bionomic data cited by Veras & Castellón (1998) for C. reticulatus from Amazonas State, as well as the records published by Wirth & Blanton (1973) and Castellón et al (1993) for this species in Amazonas and Para states, cannot be considered due to the misidentification of these species.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Culicoides reticulatus Lutz. Female: A. Wing; C. Eyes separation, anterior view; D. Antenna; E. Spermathecae; F. Palpus; G. Femora and tibiae of fore-, mid- and hind legs (left to right), lateral view. Male: B. Wing; H. Palpus; I. Terminalia; J. Aedeagus; K. Parameres.

FIGURE 9. Geographical distribution of Culicoides reticulatus and the seven new related species.