Diversity, Abundance and Host Preference of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Potential Vectors and Nuisance Insect in Zoo Park Košice, Slovakia

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Zuzana Kasicova Petronela Komorová Patrik Pastorek Andrea Schreiberová Miroslava Friedman Andrea Kimáková Alica Kocisova

Abstract

Biting midges of the genus Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) were captured in the course of three seasons (2017–2020) in the Zoo Košice. The total number of captured individuals was 5,667 biting midges, and 12 species of Culicoides were identified, while the most frequently captured and the most populous species were C. obsoletus/C. scoticus, C. furcillatus, and C. festivipennis. The most frequent hosts on which the biting midges were blood-feeding were humans (Homo sapiens), Burchell's zebra (Equus quagga burchellii), and domestic cow (Bos taurus). This is the first study to confirm a wide range of biting midges species in a zoo which are capable of using not only animals as their hosts, but also humans, in whom a bite may induce an allergic reaction. More than 80% of the fauna of biting midges in the Zoo Košice represented Culicoides obsoletus/C. scoticus, which are in the Central Europe regarded as the potential vectors of arboviruses, to which primarily ruminants are highly susceptible.

Keywords: biting midges, species composition, blood feeding, exotic animals

Article Details

How to Cite
KASICOVA, Zuzana et al. Diversity, Abundance and Host Preference of Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Potential Vectors and Nuisance Insect in Zoo Park Košice, Slovakia. Medical Research Archives, [S.l.], v. 9, n. 6, june 2021. ISSN 2375-1924. Available at: <https://esmed.org/MRA/mra/article/view/2398>. Date accessed: 24 nov. 2024. doi: https://doi.org/10.18103/mra.v9i6.2398.
Section
Research Articles

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