Culicoides (Diptera : Ceratopogonidae) associated with laying chickens at Sebele, Gaborone, Botswana

A total of 2083 Culicoides spp. were collected in an ultraviolet light trap hung from the rafters of a laying chicken house at a location in Sebele, g iving a mean daily catch of 208.3 biting midges. C. imicola was the most ab undant and constituted 57.5% of the total catch. C. leucosticus and C. engu bandei constituted 20.5% and 14.7%, respectively, of the catch. A comprehen sive questionnaire conducted at three sites in the village indicated that m any chickens in the homesteads in this location had died as a result of fow l pox. A high incidence of Haemoproteus columbae gametocytes was also found in the cytoplasm of erythrocytes of domestic pigeons (Columbiae livia dome stica).