<i>Culicoides insignis</i> Lutz, 1913 (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) Biting Midges in Northeast of Brazil
Raisa Rodrigues Santos Rios,
Maria Clara Alves Santarém,
Karlos Antônio Lisboa Ribeiro Júnior,
Breno Araujo de Melo,
Sybelle Georgia Mesquita da Silva,
Neuriane Cavalcante da Silva,
Vitória Regina Viana dos Santos,
Jakeline Maria dos Santos,
Antônio Euzébio Goulart Santana,
Angelina Bossi Fraga
Affiliations
Raisa Rodrigues Santos Rios
Northeast Network of Biotechnology—RENORBIO, Federal University of Alagoas, Av. Lourival Melo Mota S/N, Tabuleiro dos Martins, 57072-900 Maceió, Brazil
Maria Clara Alves Santarém
Ceratopogonidae Collection, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), Av. Brasil, Manguinhos, 4365 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Karlos Antônio Lisboa Ribeiro Júnior
Campus of Engineering and Agrarian Science—CECA, Federal University of Alagoas, BR-104, 57100-000 Rio Largo, Brazil
Breno Araujo de Melo
Northeast Network of Biotechnology—RENORBIO, Federal University of Alagoas, Av. Lourival Melo Mota S/N, Tabuleiro dos Martins, 57072-900 Maceió, Brazil
Sybelle Georgia Mesquita da Silva
Northeast Network of Biotechnology—RENORBIO, Federal University of Alagoas, Av. Lourival Melo Mota S/N, Tabuleiro dos Martins, 57072-900 Maceió, Brazil
Neuriane Cavalcante da Silva
Campus of Engineering and Agrarian Science—CECA, Federal University of Alagoas, BR-104, 57100-000 Rio Largo, Brazil
Vitória Regina Viana dos Santos
Campus of Engineering and Agrarian Science—CECA, Federal University of Alagoas, BR-104, 57100-000 Rio Largo, Brazil
Jakeline Maria dos Santos
Campus of Engineering and Agrarian Science—CECA, Federal University of Alagoas, BR-104, 57100-000 Rio Largo, Brazil
Antônio Euzébio Goulart Santana
Campus of Engineering and Agrarian Science—CECA, Federal University of Alagoas, BR-104, 57100-000 Rio Largo, Brazil
Angelina Bossi Fraga
Campus of Engineering and Agrarian Science—CECA, Federal University of Alagoas, BR-104, 57100-000 Rio Largo, Brazil
The species of the Culicoides genus are hematophagous, and some of them are vectors of important human and animal diseases. This group of insects is distributed worldwide, varying according to local species. Knowledge of the geographic distribution of specific species is crucial for the development and implementation of control strategies. The aim of this work was to investigate the occurrence of Culicoides in the state of Alagoas in northeast Brazil. Midges were captured with CDC light traps, and their identification and morphological analyses were performed by the Ceratopogonidae Collection of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ/CCER) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Morphological analyses were performed using the key to Culicoides from the guttatus group and comparison with other deposited specimens. DNA sequencing, genetic analysis and comparison with sequences in the Genbank database, confirmed the identification of the flies as Culicoides insignis. This was the first formal report of C. insignis being found in Alagoas.
