Department of Environmental, Social and Spatial Change, Roskilde University, Building 18.1, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark.
Parasitol Res. 2011 Oct;109(4):1133-41. doi: 10.1007/s00436-011-2357-9. Epub 2011 Apr 2.
After the introduction of bluetongue in northern Europe in 2006, populations of Culicoides have been monitored in many European countries. Large quantities of Culicoides specimens shall be determined to species, and it is thus important to find reliable morphological characters that are visualized in a stereomicroscope. Culicoides obsoletus, Culicoides scoticus, Culicoides chiopterus, and Culicoides dewulfi all belonging to subgenus Avaritia are common in collections in northern Europe. C. obsoletus and C. scoticus often make up more than 50% of the total catch of biting midges. Separation of the females of the four species by morphological characters has frequently been questioned, and in many cases, female specimens are grouped as an entity in veterinary and ecological studies. We show how it is possible using a stereomicroscope to separate the females of the four species by combining the shape of the third segment of the maxillary palp and the number and location of hairs on the first abdominal tergit. Validation of the quick stereomicroscope identification method was achieved by morphometric measurements and a molecular marker. In all cases, both methods verified the quick morphological species identification of the Obsoletus group females. In conclusion, the females of all four species of the Obsoletus group can be separated by a quick morphological method under the stereomicroscope.
自 2006 年蓝舌病在北欧出现以来，许多欧洲国家都对库蠓种群进行了监测。大量的库蠓标本需要确定到种，因此找到可靠的、在立体显微镜下可见的形态特征非常重要。属于 Avaritia 亚属的暗蠓、苏格兰库蠓、翅蠓和白纹库蠓在北欧的采集标本中很常见。暗蠓和苏格兰库蠓通常占吸血蠓总捕获量的 50%以上。这四种物种的雌性通过形态特征进行分离经常受到质疑，在许多情况下，雌性标本在兽医和生态研究中被归为一个实体。我们展示了如何使用立体显微镜，通过结合下颚须第三节的形状和第一腹节背板上毛发的数量和位置，将这四个物种的雌性分开。快速立体显微镜鉴定方法的验证通过形态测量和分子标记来实现。在所有情况下，这两种方法都验证了暗蠓组雌性的快速形态物种鉴定。总之，暗蠓组的所有四个物种的雌性都可以通过立体显微镜下的快速形态方法进行分离。
