Biomonitoring of Ceratopogonidae (Diptera: Nematocera) Using Car Nets

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Biomonitoring of Ceratopogonidae (Diptera: Nematocera) using car nets

Andrea Téthova, Jan Knoz, Miroslav Bartak and Stépan Kubik

J M. & 2005: of Cerato- Tothova, A., Knoz, ., Bartak, Kubik, S. Biomonitoring pogonidae (Diptera: Nematocera) using car nets. — Entomol. Fennica 16: 124— 128.

Car nets were used to collect two samples on a forest road in Podyji National park, the Braitava forest, Czech Republic. Sampling was done in 2002 between May 31 and June 1, and between July 30 and 31. These consisted of 10 rounds (each 10 km in length) from morning to dusk. Over 3,000 specimens (52 species) of Ceratopogonidae were captured. The results suggest that the car-net method may be efficient in ceratopogonid biomonitoring and e. g. determining their daily flight activity and swarming sites. A. Tothova, Masaryk University, Faculty ofScience, Department ofZoology and Ecology, Kotlafska 2, 611 3 7 Brno, Czech Republic; E—mail.‘ tothova@sci. muni.cz J. Knoz, Masaryk University, Faculty ofScience, Department of Comparative Physiology ofAnimals and General Zoology, Kotlafska 2, 611 3 7 Brno, Czech Republic M. Bartak & S. Kubik, Czech University ofAgriculture, Faculty ofAgronomy, Department ofZoology andFishery, I 65 21 Praha 6 —Suchdol, Czech Republic; E—mail.‘ [email protected], [email protected]. cz Received 24 May 2004, accepted 19 October 2004

1. Introduction tids. The method has since then faced some fur- ther improvements. Some researchers have sug- The car-net method, viz. catching flying insects gested that car nets mounted low (above the using a large net attached to the roofof a car, was ground) and into the front ofvehicles can be more probably first described by Lohse (Freude et al. efficient (Dr. L. Masner, pers. comm., Peck & 1965). Basically it was an improved version of a Cook 1992). method described by Strand (1961). Later on, Recent results ofusing this method were pub- Kronblad & Lundberg (1978) discussed this lished by Koehler (1994) and Herrmann (2001). method in detail, together with results obtained However, mounting a net in this position may be by this method in Sweden. They also included an more difficult and even prohibited by legislation illustration and a photo ofthe collecting device. A of some countries. similar approach was used by Rutanen & Muona (1982) who concluded that car nets were effective and fast in collecting (and detecting the presence 2. Material and methods of) many beetles, especially ptilids and aleo- charines. The authors suggested its use for deter- During 2002, two samples were collected in mining swarming sites and times e.g. for scoly- Podyji National park, on the forest road in the ENTOMOL. FENNICA Vol. 16 ° Biomonitoring OfCeratOpogonidae 125

method (Bartak 1997) that indicated that we captured about 3,200 specimens of biting midges. Specimens were mounted on microscope slides in phenol alcohol or, for some problematic specimens, Canada balm, and identification was done using monographs and keys by Zilahi- Sebess (1940), Remm(1969), Wirth et a]. (1974), Havelka (1976) and Szadziewski (1983). Species of the genus Culicoides were treated by Orszagh (1980). For identification of species of the genus Atrichopogon, we used papers by Remm (1961a), Havelka (1979), Wirth (1980), Orszagh & Kosel i. i and Szadziewski et a1. For i ‘ (1995) (1995, 1996). :‘fi? '1'? :. «Whit. I?! r identification of F we used Fig. 1. Car nets mounted on the roof of a car. orcipomyia species, papers by Remm (1960, 1961b), Krivosheina (1968), Dow & Wirth (1972), Wirth (1972) and Wirth & Ratanaworabhan (1978). For species of Braitava forest of the Czech Republic, using car Ceratopogon, the key provided by Borkent & nets (Fig. 1). Both samples (May 31 — June 1 and Grogan (1995) was used, whereas species of July 30—3 1) consisted of ten ca. 10-km long Dasyhelea, Bezzia and Palpomyia were identi- rounds from morning to dusk, and thus totalled fied using keys of Remm (1962, 1974a, 1974b, about 200 km. 1974c, 1976). All species of the Palaearctic re- Two car nets of 41 cm X 58 cm were mounted gion are listed in Remm (1988). Recent nomen- on the roofofa car (Fig. 1). The nets were made of clature was used including the changes by monofil ® attached to a metal frame. A small dose Borkent & Wirth (1997) and Szadziewski & of “knock-down” pyrethroid insecticide was ap- Knoz (2002). plied to tip of each net before each sampling round to prevent escapes of flies. After each round, nets were emptied into entomological net 3. Results and the material was immediately stored in 70% ethanol. Results of species identification are presented in The material was then sorted in the laboratory Table 1. Precise counting of selected material is using dissecting microscope with 20 X magnifica- given under “identified specimens” but the true tion, and specimens were subsequently identi- abundance ofeach species may well be 3—5 times fied. Only about 1/5 of the total sample was se- higher. In our samples, altogether 52 species of lected for identification in the case of common 10 genera were found, which represents about morphospecies and progressively higher propor- 26% of the total Czech ceratopogonid fauna. tion in the case of rare morphospecies. Simulta- Eleven species are first records from the territory neously we performed an assessment of the total of the Czech Republic (Tothova et al. 2004, in number of ceratopogonids applying the 1/ 10 press).

I Hacmatophagous - 357

EIPhytosuccivorous - 150 2. Number of . , Fig. El ECtOpaI‘aSItIC - 225 specimens of trophic groups captured using car net. 126 Téthovd et al. ' ENTOMOL. FENNICA Vol. 16

Table 1. List of identified species collected using car net. In the present study, the estimated mean abundance of ceratopogonids was ca. 1 specimen per 30 m3 of air, for the height of ca. 1.5—2 m above ground level.

Species Males Females

Culicoides (Avaritia) obsoletus (Meigen, 1818) 55 C. (Culicoides) punctatus (Meigen, 1804) 48 C. (Oecacta) fascipennis (Staeger, 1839) 47 C. (O.)festivipennis Kieffer, 1914 INICD 48 C. (O.)kibunensis Tokunaga, 1937 25 C (C.) pallidicornis Kieffer, 1919 1 C (0.)pictipennis (Staeger, 1839) — C. (O. ) reconditus Campbell & Pelham—Clinton, 1960 — Ceratopogon naccinervis Borkent, in Borkent & Wirth 1997 — Stilobezzia (Stilobezzia) flavirostris (Winnertz, 1852) — Stilobezzia (Acanthohelea) ochracea (Winnertz, 1852) — Schizohelea leucopeza (Meigen, 1804) _\ Serromyia femorata (Meigen, 1804) S. morio (Fabricius, 1775) NVNNOO—‘CD S. subinermis Kieffer, 1919 INNI Bezzia (Bezzia) signata (Meigen, 1804) 12 Bezzia (B.) Winnerztiana Kieffer, 1919 14 Bezzia (Pygobezzia) albicornis (Meigen, 1818) — Palpomyia melacheira Remm, 1976 P. nigripes (Meigen, 1830) P. serripes (Meigen, 1818) P. tibia/is (Meigen, 1818) Dasyhelea (Dasyhelea) malleola Remm, 1962 D. (D ) pallidiventris (Goetghebuer, 1831) D. (D.) paludicola Kieffer, 1925 D. A N-b—‘OON—‘AOOU‘II (D)saxicola (Edwards, 1929) D. (D.)septuosa Borkent [in Borkent & Wirth (1997)] N_\ D. (D.) versicolor(Winnertz1852) D (DiCIyptoscena) modesta (Winnertz,1852) |l\)O1—\|-l>|—\| —\—\\IO| D (Pseudoculicoides) flavoscutellata (Zetterstedt, 1850) D (Prokempia) flaviventris (Goetghebuer, 1910) N_\ Atrichopogon (A. ) brunnipes (Meigen,1804) A. (A.)hirtidorsum Remm, 1961 A. (A.)minutus(Meigen, 1830) A. (A)paVIdus(WInnertz1852) IUD—\AI A. 440000010) (Meloehelea)aff. epicautae(Wirth, 1956) A (M.)Iucorum (Meigen, 1818) 2NI AA CDC A- (M.) oedemerarum Stora, 1939 A (M.) Winnertzi Goetghebuer, 1922 A. (Psammopogon) flavolineatus Strobl, 1880 Forcipomyia (Euprojoannisia) palustris (Meigen, 1804) F. (E.) titillans (Winnertz, 1852.) ()0 ( --( |—\|l\>|©| .(F) hygrophila Kieffer, 1925 .(F) kaltenbachi (Winnertz, 1852) CDNNI .(F) nigra (Winnertz, 1852) O‘l (F-) tenuis(Winnertz, 1852) — (F-) tenuisquama Kieffer, 1924 — (Is Q) siohelea) sibirica (Bujanova, 1962) 23 00 (L.)velox(Winnertz, 1852) 3 .(Thyridomyia)monilicornis(Coquillet, 1905) 1 Total 132 CD 0 OOOCDCD—‘AI ENTOMOL. FENNICA Vol. 16 ° Biomonitoring ofCeratopogonidae 127

4. Discussion ravia were missing in our samples (Knoz 1998). Possible examples are at least Probezzia and Biting midges are usually collected using various Sphaeromias species. kinds oflight traps, COZ-baited traps, traps baited In general, biting midges have two abundance with nulliparous females, or using Malaise traps. peaks: late spring and the onset of autumn. The In collecting biting midges, the car-net method capture of 26% of known Czech species outside appears to substantially enrich the portfolio ofthe their peak abundance period is another indication traditional collecting methods. It also seems to be of the high efficiency of the collecting method efficient in collecting biting midges with diurnal used. It also seems to be succesful for quick moni- and crepuscular activity. Of the 19 genera ofbit- toring of local populations of other dipteran ing midges known from the Czech Republic, 10 groups. were captured in our study, suggesting that the car-net method is an effective way to sample en- Acknowledgements. We are indebted to the Masaryk Uni— tire ceratopogonid faunas in diverse habitats. The versity of Brno for financial support (grant no. MSM 143100010 and 0021622416). This paper was partly sup- qualitative and quantitative richness of our mate- ported by IRP MSM 6046070901. rial, collected in Podyji National Park, reflects the usefulness of this collecting method, and the overall abundance in this area. About 1/3 midge References of our material were species of the haematophagous genus Culicoides (especially females). Bartak, M. 1997: The biomonitoring of Diptera by means

This well-studied of and medi- 7 genus, veterinary of yellow pan water traps. In: Vafihara, J. & cal importance, is usually captured using light Rozkosny, R. (eds), Folia Fac. Sci. Nat. Univ. Masa— traps, but its high proportion in our samples ryk. Brun., Biologia 95. Dipterologica Bohemo- slovaca 8: 9716. shows the utilisation and efficiency of our Borkent, A. & Grogan, W. L. 1995: Arevision ofthe genus method. We also collected haematophagous spe- Ceratopogon Meigen with a discussion of phylogen— cies of the Lasiohelea ofF subgenus orcz'pomyz'a etic relationships, zoogeography and bionomic diver— that feed on the blood of amphibians (L. velox) gence (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae). 7 Mem. Ent. Soc. and mammals, including man (L. Sibl'rl'ca). Fe- Wash. 15: 17198. A. & W. W. 1997: World of males of the genera Atrichopogon, Forcipomyia, Borkent, Wirth, species biting midges (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae). 7 Bulletin Palpomyia, Stilobezzia and Serromyz'a feed on Amer. Mus. of Nat. Hist. 233: 17257. the haemolymph of other insect groups (Diptera, Dow, M. I & Wirth, W. W. 1972: Studies on the genus Odonata and All other Coleoptera, Lepidoptera). Forcipomyia. II. The Nearctic species of the subgen— genera are phytosuccivorous and pollinovorous. era Thyria’omyia and Synthyridomyia (Diptera, Cera— 7Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer. 65: 1777201. The car-net method appears to be able to cap- topogonidae). Freude, H., Harde, K. & Lohse, G. 1965: Die Kafer ture not only some of the trophic groups of se- Bd. 1: in die Kaferkunde. lected but also the entire of Mitteleuropas, Einfiihrung families, spectrum 7 Elsevier. 214 pp. and their The di- species feeding specifications. Havelka, P. 1976: Limnologische und Systematische Stu—

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