Notes On Biting Midges Of The Genus Culicoides From South Korea: With Special Reference To Unrecorded Species And Distribution.

A survey of the biting midges of the Genus Culicoides was conducted by a joint effort of numerous U.S. and Korean personnel throughout South Korea for seven years from 1965 through 1973 (except 1968, 1971) using New Jersey light traps set up at fifty-nine (59) different locations, to find out the seasonal succession and geographical distribution of the said insects both on an individual species basis and as a whole, and to evaluate the medical significance and epidemiology of these insects. This provides some of the basic knowledge needed for prevention of filarial and virus transmission of diseases owing to these insects. As a result the following results were obtained: 1. Sixteen (16) species hitherto unrecorded were added to the fauna of biting midges known from South Korea. Together with the already recorded fourteen (14) species, this makes the total number of species of these insects in South Korea thirty (30). 2. Through the monthly tabulation of the collected specimens it was possible to find out the general seasonal succession of these insects as well as their sex ratio. 3. Based on the data obtained the geographical distributions of the biting midges of the Genus Culicoides so far recorded in Korea were classified into the following four (4) types: a. The species which are very widely spread throughout south Korea. b. The species which are spread in central South Korea and supposed to occur in North Korea. c. The species which were collected from coastal areas and southern island. d. The species which were collected from Cheju-do.