Culicoides crucifer Clastrier

(Figs. 13–18)

Culicoides crucifer Clastrier, 1968: 85 (male, female; French Guiana); Wirth 1974: 29 (in catalog species south of USA); Aitken et al. 1975: 118 (Trinidad records); Vitale et al. 1981: 147 (in key of the C. debilipalpis group); Wirth et al. 1988: 46 (in wing atlas of species south of USA); Borkent & Wirth 1997: 66 (in World catalog); Borkent & Spinelli 2000: 31 (in catalog species south of USA); Trindade & Gorayeb 2005: 67 (Brazil, Para records); Borkent & Spinelli 2007: 66 (in Neotropical catalog); Silva et al. 2010: 71 (Brazil, Pará records); Ronderos et al. 2013: 49 (pupa, Amazonas records); Borkent & Dominiak 2020: 112 (in World catalog).

Diagnosis. The only Neotropical species of the subgenus C. (Haematomyidium) with the following combination of characters: females with flagellomeres 4–12 subequal in length; sensilla coeloconica on flagellomeres 1, 6–8; palpal segment 3 slender with broad shallow pit; poststigmatic pale spots in r 3 separated; cell m 1 with two pale spots, distal one well separated from wing margin; cell m 2 with pale spot posterior to medial fork and no trace of pale spot anterior to cubital fork; macrotrichia present on distal half of cells r 3, m 1 and m 2, only few at extreme distal margin in cua 1 and anal cell, extending in one row to base of m 2. Male unknown.

Specimen examined. “ Argentina, Misiones, Posadas, Club San Francisco, 27°23’31.20”S, 55°55’59.37”W, 4-IX-2008, H. Walantus, CDC light trap ” (MLPA) .

Main numerical characters of the specimen examined: AR: 0.66; PR: 3.34; P/H ratio 1.00; wing length: 0.90 mm; width: 0.42 mm; CR: 0.55; larger spermatheca: 62 by 42 μm, neck 12 μm; smaller spermatheca: 55 by 35 μm, neck10 μm.

Distribution. Trinidad, Guyana, French Guiana and Brazilian Amazonia (Amazonas, Pará), Argentina (Misiones).

Remarks. The examined specimen perfectly agrees with the original description.