THE SEASONAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL-DISTRIBUTION OF CULICOIDES IMICOLA, C-PULICARIS GROUP AND C-OBSOLETUS GROUP BITING MIDGES IN CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN SPAIN

Pirbright-type light traps were used to collect Culicoides biting midg es (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) at fifteen sites in twelve provinces of central Spain and Andalusia. A total of 293625 Culicoides were collect ed in 1387 samples over a two year period. These comprised approximate ly 9.2% Culicoides imicola, 11.4% C. pulicaris group, 1.6% C. obsoletu s group and 12.2% C. circumscriptus. Culicoides imicola was present at ten of the fifteen sites; the five sites from which it was absent wer e the most eastern of the fifteen. The greatest abundance of this spec ies was at Navalmoral in Caceres province. Culicoides pulicaris group were present at all sites; C. obsoletus group were present at twelve s ites. The annual peaks in abundance were. C. imicola, August-October; C. pulicaris group, May-June; and C. obsoletus group, March-June. The geographical and seasonal distributions of C. imicola are consistent w ith those of the outbreaks of African horse sickness (AHS) and blueton gue (BT) during epizootics in Spain, and support the contention that C . imicola was the major vector of AHS and BT viruses.