Culicoides (Beltranmyia) hollensis (Melander and Brues)

Vigil, Wlodkowski, John C., Joshua, Vargas, Shaw, David, Christopher, William L. Grogan, Jr. & Corn, Joseph L., 2014, New records of biting midges of the genus Culicoides Latreille from the southeastern United States (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Insecta Mundi 2014 (394), pp. 1-14 : 5-6

Culicoides (Beltranmyia) hollensis (Melander and Brues)

Ceratopogon hollensis Melander and Brues, 1903: 13 (Massachusetts) .

Culicoides hollensis: Kieffer 1906: 50 (combination); Foote and Pratt 1954: 24 (in review of eastern USA Culicoides ; notes on types) .

Culicoides (Beltranmyia) hollensis: Jamnback 1965: 73 (in review of Culicoides of New York); Wirth 1965: 131 (in Nearctic catalog; distribution); Blanton and Wirth 1979: 101 (Florida records; distribution); Wirth et al. 1985: 30 (in Nearctic Wing Atlas ) ; Wilkening et al. 1985: 520 (Florida records); Borkent and Grogan 2009: 13 (in Nearctic catalog; distribution) .

Culicoides canithorax Hoffman, 1925: 284 ( Georgia) .

Discussion. Culicoides hollensis can be abundant in salt marsh habitats along the Atlantic coast of North America, particularly in areas with tall-growth Spartina alterniflora , saltmarsh cordgrass ( Kline and Axtell 1977). Greiner et al. (1978) documented C. hollensis biting humans in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada. Blanton and Wirth (1979) noted that “This is the most important man-biting Culicoides in the salt-marshes along the eastern seaboard of the United States.” This pestiferous species inhabits New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia, Canada and the entire Atlantic U.S. coast to central Florida ( Borkent and Grogan 2009).

Culicoides hollensis exhibits geographical variation in its wing pattern, with more northern individuals having almost no pattern, and more southern individuals with a more conspicuous pattern that resembles C. mississippiensis Hoffman. In general, C. hollensis differs from C. mississippiensis by its less conspicuous wing pattern and the lack of a pale spot over the distal portion of the 2 nd radial cell. Culicoides mississippiensis is thought to replace C. hollensis in similar saltmarsh habitat on most of the U.S. Gulf Coast ( Blanton and Wirth 1979). Blanton and Wirth (1979) noted in Florida that “ C. mississippiensis is found along the entire Gulf Coast from Escambia to Monroe counties, and continues up the Keys to Dade Co., but is most abundant and pestiferous in the panhandle.” More recently however, Cilek et al. (2003) recorded C. hollensis on the Gulf Coast in the panhandle of Florida and in Mississippi. In at least two of our C. hollensis specimens, there is a slight pale area over the 2 nd radial cell, a characteristic of most specimens of C. mississippiensis . However, the overall wing pattern is inconspicuous, as is typical for C. hollensis . Blanton and Wirth (1979) suggested that there has been gene flow between these two very similar species in the past, as may be the case here. With the confirmation of C. hollensis in southwest Florida, an area within the known range of C. mississippiensis , the possibility of gene flow between these species exists. Conversely, only a single species may inhabit the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America, and this possibility could be confirmed with future genetic studies. We provide new records of C. hollensis from two counties on the southwestern Gulf coast of Florida.

New Florida County Records. FLORIDA, Collier Co., Naples, Collier Seminole State Park , 28 October 2009, 1 female. Lee Co. , St. James City , Galt Preserve, 14 December 2009, 3 females ; Ft. Myers Beach, Lovers Key State Park , 12 April 2010, 3 females .