Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Articles
Published: 2009-11-23
Page range: 46–54
Abstract views: 29
PDF downloaded: 1

Description of the immatures of the predaceous midge Bezzia blantoni Spinelli & Wirth (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

División Entomología, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, 1900, La Plata, Argentina
División Entomología, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, 1900, La Plata, Argentina
Diptera Larva Pupa Bezzia blantoni SEM Martín García island Argentina

Abstract

The fourth instar larva and pupa of Bezzia blantoni Spinelli & Wirth (1989) are described, illustrated and photomicrographed by using phase-contrast microscopy and Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The larva, which shows features typical to carnivorous larvae, is compared with that of B. roldani Spinelli & Wirth. The species is recorded for the first time from the Martín García island, located in the La Plata river between Argentina and Uruguay. Details of the biology traits, breeding location and feeding behavior are given.

References

  1. Arnaud, P. H. & Arnaud, M. M. (1996) Taxonomic names published in the insect order Diptera by Willis Wagner Wirth (1994), from 1947 through 1995, with type depositories of holotypes. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Washington, 18, 8–57.

    Becker, P. (1958) The behavior of larvae of Culicoides circunscriptus Kieff. (Diptera Ceratopogonidae) towards light stimuli as influenced by feeding, with observations on the feeding habits. Bulletin of Entomological Research, 49, 785–802.

    Borkent, A. (2009) World Species of Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). http://www.inhs.illinois.edu/research/FLYTREE/CeratopogonidaeCatalog.pdf

    Borkent, A. & Spinelli, G. R. (2000) Catalogue of the new world biting midges south of the United States of America (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Contribution on Entomology, International, 4(1), 1–107.

    Borkent, A. & Spinelli, G. R. (2007) Neotropical Ceratopogonidae (Diptera: Insecta). In: Adis, J., Arias, J. R., Rueda-Delgado, G. and Wantzen, K. M. (Eds.): Aquatic Biodiversity in Latin America (ABLA). Vol. 4. Pensoft, Sofia-Moscow, 198 pp.

    Borkent, A. & Wirth, W. W. (1997) World Species of Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 233, 1–257.

    Glukhova, V. M. (1977) Midges of the family Ceratopogonidae (synonym Heleidae). Pp. 431–457. In: Kutikova, L. A and Starobogatov, Y. L. (Eds). Determination of the Freshwater Invertebrates of the Europen Regions of the USSR (Plankton and Benthos) (In Russian). Leningrad. 127 pp.

    Hribar, L. J. (1993) Mouthpart morphology and feeding behavior of biting midges larvae (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), p. 43–58. In: Schaefer, C. W & Leschen, R. A. B. (Eds.). Fuctional Morphology of Insect Feeding. Thomas Say Publications in Entomology: Proceedings Entomological Society of America. Lanham, MD.

    Hribar, L. J. & Mullen, G. R. (1991) Comparative morphology of the mouthparts and associated feeding structures of biting midge larvae (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Contributions of the American Entomological Institute, 26(3), 1–71.

    Mullen, G. R. & Hribar, L. J. (1988) Biology and feeding behavior of Ceratopogonidae larvae (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in North America. Bulletin of the Society of Vector Ecology, 13, 60–81.

    Ronderos, M. M., Spinelli, G. R. & Sarmiento, P. (2000) Preparation and mounting of biting midges of the genus Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) to be observed with Scanning Electron Microscope. Transactions of the American Entomological Society, 126(1), 125–132.

    Ronderos, M. M., Spinelli, G. R. & Díaz, F. (2007) Redescription of the last instar larva and pupa of Bezzia roldani (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina, 66 (1–2), 21–28.

    Spinelli, G. R. & Wirth, W. W. (1989) The neotropical predaceous midges of the genus Bezzia (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) Part I. The glabra and brevicornis groups. Limnobios, 10(2), 762–778.

    Spinelli, G. R. & Wirth, W. W. (1993) Los Ceratopogonidae de la Argentina (Insecta: Diptera). Fauna de agua dulce de la República Argentina. Volumen 38. Diptera Fascículo 3. Ceratopogonidae, 124 pp.

    Thomsen, L. C. (1937) Aquatic Diptera. Part V, Ceratopogonidae. Memoirs of the Cornell University Agricultural Experimental Station, 210, 57–80.