title: Impact of experimental flooding on larvae and pupae of dung-breeding Culicoides.
abstract: Culicoides biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) spend the greatest part of their life in the larval stage. However, knowledge on the immature stages and the impact of abiotic factors on their development is still poor. Therefore, we investigated the effect of flooding on the larvae and pupae of Culicoides chiopterus (Meigen, 1830) and C. dewulfi Goetghebuer, 1936. In water, the larvae of both species showed head-to-tail flexions and sinuous flexions, at slow rates, but were not able to swim. Flooding of larvae for 24 h did not affect the number of emerging adults; flooding of pupae significantly reduced the emergence rate of C. chiopterus, compared to the control group, while C. dewulfi was not affected. Pupae were not able to float and no pupae survived flooding for 10 days. After flooding of larvae for 10 days, 50 % of C. chiopterus and 4 % of C. dewulfi completed the pre-adult development. During this treatment, 84 % of C. chiopterus and 48 % of C. dewulfi larvae pupated in water.
authors.affiliation: Research Group Aquatic Ecology and Nature Conservation, Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany. sonja.steinke@uni-oldenburg.de.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Steinke
authors.affiliation: Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, WHO Collaborating Centre for Arbovirus and Haemorrhagic Fever Reference and Research, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lühken
authors.affiliation: Research Group Aquatic Ecology and Nature Conservation, Department of Biology and Environmental Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Ammerländer Heerstraße 114-118, 26111, Oldenburg, Germany.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kiel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D002519:Ceratopogonidae / Q000254:growth & development*; D005260:Female; D055868:Floods; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development; D008297:Male; D011679:Pupa / Q000254:growth & development; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D014867:Water
keywords: C. chiopterus; C. dewulfi; Cowpat; Development; Floating; Overwintering; Swimming; Vector