PROCEEDINGS OF THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



by the 



SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 



U. S. NATIONAL MUSEUM 

 Vol. 109 Washington : 1959 No. 3415 



BITING MIDGES OF THE GENUS CULICOIDES 

 FROM PANAMA (DIPTERA : HELEIDAE) 



By Willis W. Wirth^ and Franklin S. Blanton^ 



Introduction 



In 1951 the junior author began a 3-year assignment as entomolo- 

 gist to the U. S. Army Caribbean at Fort Clayton in the Panama 

 Canal Zone. During this assignment surveys for blood-sucking 

 insects, which were begun at miUtary installations in the Canal Zone 

 and various maneuver areas, were extended to cover a wide area over 

 the RepubHc of Panama (Blanton, Galindo, and Peyton, 1955). The 

 senior author determined the Culicoides that were collected and he 

 cooperated in describing the numerous new species that were soon 

 discovered. Some of these new species were described in joint papers 

 as the work progressed, but it was soon realized that a major revision 

 of the Panama species was needed, and we then devoted our efforts to 

 the present paper. 



When our studies began, 16 species of Culicoides had been reported 

 from Panama (Fairchild, 1943; Barbosa, 1947; Fox, 1947; Ortiz, 

 1950a). By intensive collecting, primarily with light traps, the num- 

 ber has been increased to 88. By additional collecting in selected 



' Entomologist, Entomology Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, Washington, D. C. , , 



2 Lieutenant Colonel, MSC. Retired. Formerly at Department of Entomology, Walter Reed Army 

 Institute of Research, Washington, D. C. 



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