TTaxonomic and ecological aspects of immature Ceratopogonidae (Diptera: Insecta) in east maranhense, Brazil

Abstract

The family Ceratopogonidae are constituted by four genera Forcipomyia, Leptoconops, Austroconops and Culicoides. They are small Diptera known commonly by maruins, gunpowder mosquitoes. The larvae have an elongated and cylindrical body. Adults are predators and hematophagus, they feed on human blood other animals where they can transmit diseases. The objective of this work was to describe the taxonomic and ecological aspects of immatures of the family Ceratopogonidae in the igarapés present in the Environmental Protection Area of Buriti do Meio in the city of Caxias - Maranhão. Samples were collected from December 2017 to May 2018 and material collected in the years 2016 and 2017 were deposited in the Laboratory of Aquatic Entomology at CESC / UEMA. Environmental and physico-chemical factors were evaluated. The specimens were collected with entomological network in D (rapiché) and manual harvesting in leaves, roots, phytotelmatas and macrophytes, in areas of current or backwater. In the study, 287 larvae of the Ceratopogonidae family were obtained, with two subfamilies, Dasyheleinae, Ceratopogoninae. The subfamily Ceratopogoninae was abundant with 197 specimens and Dasyheleinae with 88 specimens. The most abundant genera were Culicoides (n = 132), Dasyhelea (n = 88), Bezzia (n = 52) and Palpomyia (n = 13). For the three igarapés found, the Riachão I obtained greater abundance of specimens (N = 193), followed by the Buriti I creek (N = 42) and with smaller abundance the Riachão II creek (N = 9), while the Buriti lagoon obtained abundance of N = 41 specimens. The studied igarapés have sandy loam to clayey, present riparian vegetation, canopy of open to closed along the igarapé. The average of the substrates were, leaf 26.6%, trunk 10%, root 25%, Macrophytes 6.6%, stone 3.3%, sand 28.3. The mean values for the studied factors were temperature 26.8 ° C; acid pH 5.8, conductivity 47.8 μS / cm, dissolved oxygen 10.9, width 3.3m, depth 0.64m, velocity 0.2cm / s and mean flow rate 0.56cm3 / s. Biodiversity studies of the Ceratopogonidae family are essential for general knowledge of genera, help define areas of risk and distribution of certain diseases, and propose management and control strategies that minimize the annoyance transmitted by these insects in infested areas.