title: Host preferences of ornithophilic biting midges of the genus Culicoides in the Eastern Balkans.
abstract: Many biting midges of the genus Culicoides Latreille, 1809 (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are competent vectors of a diverse number of pathogens. The identification of their feeding behaviour and of vector-host associations is essential for understanding their transmission capacity. By applying two different nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays, of which one targeted the avian cyt b gene and the other targeted the COI gene of a wide range of vertebrates, we identified the blood hosts of six biting midge species including Culicoides circumscriptus, Culicoides festivipennis, Culicoides punctatus, Culicoides pictipennis, Culicoides alazanicus and Culicoides cf. griseidorsum, the latter two of which are reported in Bulgaria for the first time. Bird DNA was found in 50.6% of 95 investigated bloodmeals, whereas mammalian DNA was identified in 13.7%. Two Culicoides species were found to feed on both birds and mammals. There was remarkable diversity in the range of avian hosts: 23 species from four orders were identified in the abdomens of four Culicoides species. The most common bird species identified was the magpie, Pica pica (n = 7), which was registered in all four ornithophilic biting midge species. Six bloodmeals from the great tit, Parus major, were recorded only in C. alazanicus. None of the studied species of Culicoides appeared to be restricted to a single avian host.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bobeva
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zehtindjiev
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria.|Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ilieva
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia, Bulgaria.|Institute of Ecology, Nature Research Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dimitrov
authors.affiliation: Swiss National Centre for Vector Entomology, Institute of Parasitology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mathis
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bensch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission*; D001717:Birds; D002031:Bulgaria; D002519:Ceratopogonidae / Q000502:physiology*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D020387:Food Chain; D016787:Haemosporida / Q000502:physiology; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000502:physiology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D011529:Protozoan Infections, Animal / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission*; D019032:Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization / Q000662:veterinary
keywords: Culicoides; Haemoproteus; bloodmeal; host preferences; vector-host associations