BITING MIDGES — WIRTH AND BLANTON 283 



variety filariferus Hoffman. The proportion of this variety in the 

 population is quite high in Venezuela (where it was described as 

 vcumarensis by Ortiz) and in the Central American highlands, but 

 elsewhere, including Panama, it seems to be relatively rare. 



Culicoides diabolicus is apparently one of the commonest species 

 annoying to man in Latin America, outside the coastal salt marshes. 

 Dampf (1936) found it to be parasitized by developmental forms of 

 filarid larvae in Chiapas, Mexico, but Gibson and Ascoli (1952) con- 

 cluded that on account of the rarity of this species in biting collections 

 from the human onchocerciasis zone of Guatemala, it is probably not 

 an important vector there. Material received recently from Trinidad 

 collected by T. H. G. Aitken and W. G. Downs indicates that dia- 

 bolicus is one of the commonest man-biters in the mountainous parts 

 of that island. Nothing is known of the breeding habits of diabolicus. 



5. Culicoides foxi Ortiz 



Figure 8 



Culicoides foxi Ortiz, 1951, Nov. Cient. Mus. Hist. Nat. La Salle, zool. ser., no. 5, 

 p. 4 (male, female; Caracas, Venezuela; fig. wing, mesonotum, palpus, sperma- 

 thecae, male genitalia). — Fox, 1953, Journ. Econ. Ent., vol. 45, p. 888 (Puerto 

 Rico).— Wirth and Blanton, 1956, Proc. Ent. Soc. Washington, vol. 58, p. 309. 



Culicoides diabolicus Macfie (not Hoffman, misident.), 1935, Stylops, vol. 4, p. 54 

 (Tutoia, Piauhi, Brazil); 1937, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., ser. 10, vol. 20, p. 7 

 (Trinidad). — Floch and Abonnenc, 1942, Inst. Pasteur Guyane Publ., vol. 

 37, p. 2 (French Guiana; fig. female wing, palpus). 



Culicoides guttatus Fox (not Coquillett, misident.), 1948, Proc. Biol. Soc. Washing- 

 ton, vol. 61, p. 23 (Brazil, Venezuela; fig. female palpus) ; 1949, Bull. Brooklyn 

 Ent. Soc, vol. 44, p. 31 (Puerto Rico; female, male genitalia; fig. female 

 wing, spermathecae, male aedeagus, parameres) ; 1950, Puerto Rico Journ. 

 Pub. Health Trop. Med., vol. 25, p. 342 (Puerto Rico). 



Female: Length of wing 1.21 (1.01-1.33, n=15) mm. 



Head. — Eyes contiguous, bare. Antenna with flagellar segments 

 in proportion of 22 : 17 : 17 : 18:18:18: 18 :20 :25 :26 :30 :32 :48, antennal 

 ratio 1.10; distal sensory tufts present on segments iii, xi-xv. Palpal 

 segments in proportion of 10:25:38:20:14, third segment 3.2 (2.5-3.6, 

 n=9) times as long as greatest breadth, with a broad, shallow, sensory 

 pit. Mandible with 16 (14-17, n=16) teeth. 



Thorax. — Mesonotum with prominent pattern, yellowish in center, 

 with two distinct, sublateral, blackish, longitudinal vittae. Legs 

 brown with distinct pale bands at midlength and narrow blackish 

 rings before apex on fore and mid femora, fore and mid knees narrowly 

 pale, hind tibia with basal and apical pale bands; hind tibial comb 

 with six spines. 



Wing. — Pattern as figured, two pale spots in cell Mi past the pale 

 spot straddling middle of vein M2, crossvein r-m blackish and a small 

 blackish spot behind apex of second radial cell. Macrotrichia sparse 



