Culicoides species (Diptera; Ceratopogonidae) and potential hosts in ecotourism area of Lençóis Maranhenses National Park, Brazil

Abstract

Richness, relative abundance, and blood food source of Culicoides species were studied in rural and urban areas in Barreirinhas Brazilian tourist center, Maranhão State, in Lençóis Maranhenses National Park area. Insects were collected in peridomiciliary environment using HP light traps placed about 1.5 m above the floor, from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am, in the years 2004 to 2007. The effort was 1,440 h. A total of 7,964 individuals belonging to 13 species were caught. The most abundant ones were Culicoides filariferus (30.7%), C. ignacioi (24.6%), C. insignis (13.8%), C. leopoldoi (12.8%), C. boliviensis (9.9%), C. foxi (4%), and C. paucienfuscatus (3.2%). The others were 1% of sampling. Culicoides sucked blood of mammals (54.3%, including humans, 11.2%) and birds (31.9%), more abundant in rural area where the average of catches was 878.9 specimens per locality compared to 18 specimens per locality in urban area. The high wealth and abundance of Culicoides species, and humans and domestic animals as blood hosts, have indicated future entomological studies are necessary to determine whether the tourism, one of the main local economic activities, has affected habitats and changed the community structure of those insects.