EFFECT OF LIGHT TRAP HEIGHT ON CATCH OF CULICOIDES (DIPTERA, CERATOPOGONIDAE) IN ISRAEL

Vertical suction light trapping was conducted in 1981 at two dairy far ms, Bet Dagan (traps at 1.4 and 26 m above ground) and Bet Alfa (traps at 1.5 and 20 m). Of the nine Culicoides species caught in both local ities, only C. circumscriptus Kieffer and C. cataneii Clastrier showed a significant difference in abundance related to trap height; C. imic ola Kieffer and C. schultzei sp. gp. also demonstrated a height prefer ence, but catch sizes did not differ statistically. C. circumscriptus and C. cataneii, both avian feeders, and C. imicola, a mammalian feede r, were caught in greater numbers in the higher than in the lower trap s. In contrast, more C. schultzei sp. pp. females were caught in lower than higher traps. Species collected more frequently in higher traps may be more prone to carriage for long distances by air currents and t herefore are more likely to be important as dispersal vectors.