IPPTS, Université de Strasbourg, EA 4438, 67000, Strasbourg, France.
Parasit Vectors. 2012 Jul 9;5:137. doi: 10.1186/1756-3305-5-137.
The appearance of bluetongue virus (BTV) in 2006 within northern Europe exposed a lack of expertise and resources available across this region to enable the accurate morphological identification of species of Culicoides Latreille biting midges, some of which are the major vectors of this pathogen. This work aims to organise extant Culicoides taxonomic knowledge into a database and to produce an interactive identification key for females of Culicoides in the Western Palaearctic (IIKC: Interactive identification key for Culicoides). We then validated IIKC using a trial carried out by six entomologists based in this region with variable degrees of experience in identifying Culicoides.
The current version of the key includes 98 Culicoides species with 10 morphological variants, 61 descriptors and 837 pictures and schemes. Validation was carried out by six entomologists as a blind trial with two users allocated to three classes of expertise (beginner, intermediate and advanced). Slides were identified using a median of seven steps and seven minutes and user confidence in the identification varied from 60% for failed identifications to a maximum of 80% for successful ones. By user class, the beginner group successfully identified 44.6% of slides, the intermediate 56.8% and the advanced 74.3%.
Structured as a multi-entry key, IIKC is a powerful database for the morphological identification of female Culicoides from the Western Palaearctic region. First developed for use as an interactive identification key, it was revealed to be a powerful back-up tool for training new taxonomists and to maintain expertise level. The development of tools for arthropod involvement in pathogen transmission will allow clearer insights into the ecology and dynamics of Culicoides and in turn assist in understanding arbovirus epidemiology.
2006 年，蓝舌病毒（BTV）在北欧的出现暴露了该地区在准确鉴定库蠓属刺蝇（某些是该病原体的主要传播媒介）物种方面缺乏专业知识和资源。本工作旨在将现有的库蠓分类学知识组织到一个数据库中，并为西方古北区（IIKC：库蠓交互式鉴定钥匙）的雌性库蠓制作一个交互式鉴定钥匙。然后，我们使用在该地区具有不同鉴定经验的六名昆虫学家进行的试验来验证 IIKC。
该关键目前包括 98 种库蠓物种，具有 10 种形态变体、61 个描述符和 837 张图片和图表。验证是由六名昆虫学家进行的，他们是盲目的，两名用户被分配到三个专业知识水平（初学者、中级和高级）。幻灯片的鉴定使用中位数为七个步骤和七分钟，用户对鉴定的信心从鉴定失败的 60%到鉴定成功的 80%不等。按用户级别，初学者组成功识别了 44.6%的幻灯片，中级组为 56.8%，高级组为 74.3%。
作为一个多入口钥匙，IIKC 是一个强大的数据库，用于鉴定来自西方古北区的雌性库蠓。最初开发用于交互式鉴定钥匙，它被证明是培训新分类学家和维持专业知识水平的有力备用工具。开发用于节肢动物参与病原体传播的工具将使我们更清楚地了解库蠓的生态学和动态，并有助于理解虫媒病毒的流行病学。
