Seasonal Abundance of Deer and Horse Flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) in the Northern Part of Gyeonggi-do,Republic of Korea

The seasonal abundance of horse and deer flies (family Tabanidae) was analyzed using Mosquito Magnet^® traps at 5 sites located near/in the demilitarized zone, northern Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea from late April to early October for 4 consecutive years (2010-2013). A total of 2,999 horse and deer flies (tabanids) belonging to 5 genera and 20 species were collected. Chrysops mlokosiewiczi (90.9%) was the most frequently collected, followed by Haematopota koryoensis (4.8%) and C. suavis (1.0%). The remaining 17 species comprised only of 3.3% of all species collected. C. mlokosiewiczi demonstrated bimodal peak populations during mid-June and early August, while H. koryoensis demonstrated a unimodal peak during mid-July. Overall numbers of tabanids collected were influenced by the previous year’s winter temperatures and precipitation. Population abundance was influenced by habitat with most of tabanids collected from habitats near forested areas, followed by rice paddies, and a beef farm.     

Species diversity and abundance of Tabanus spp. (Diptera: Tabanidae) in different habitats of Thailand

Tabanus spp. or horse flies (Diptera: Tabanidae) are haematophagous flies of medical and veterinary importance. They are known to cause trypanosomosis or surra in domestic and wild animals in Thailand. This study conducted an entomological survey of horse flies from different sites in Thailand. Horse flies were collected from three different habitats: primary forests, secondary forests and villages using Nzi traps between April 2012 and December 2016. A total of 1835 female horse flies were collected and 45 species were identified. The five most abundant species were T. striatus (25.45%), followed by T. megalops (21.36%), T. rubidus (14.82%), T. tamthaiorum (7.90%) and T. oxybeles (6.38%). The highest proportion of horse flies was collected in villages (39.13%), followed by primary forests (34%) and secondary forests (26.87%). The species diversity of horse flies in primary forests was higher than in other habitats. The results of this study may be used for a horse fly control program.     

Spiroplasma species in the Costa Rican highlands: implications for biogeography and biodiversity

More than 1,000 Spiroplasma isolates have been obtained from horse flies and deer flies (Diptera:Tabanidae) in the United States and Canada. However, the spiroplasma biota of Central America is poorly known. In August of 1995 and 1998, 13 isolates were obtained in 14 attempts from horse flies of a single species, Poeciloderas quadripunctatus, taken in the Costa Rican highlands (1,100–2,000 m). The majority of the “isolates” proved to be mixtures of two or more Spiroplasma species, but after filter cloning, single strains emerged that were designated as representatives of the 13 accessions. Six distinct spiroplasma serogroups were identified from these isolations. Three of the strains are putative new species with no serological relationship to any other Spiroplasma species. A fourth strain is a putative new species that may be distantly related to S. helicoides, a southeastern U.S. species. These four strains are accorded herein status as representatives of new serogroups: strain BARC 4886 (group XXXV); strain BARC 4900 (group XXXVI); strain BARC 4908 (group XXXVII); and GSU5450 (group XXXVIII). A fifth Spiroplasma species was very closely related to S. lineolae, known previously only from the Georgia (U.S.) coast. The sixth was most closely related to subgroup VIII-3, known from Texas and the southeastern U.S. Discovery of six spiroplasma species in only 13 attempted isolations reflects diversity seldom equaled in southeast Georgia, and never elsewhere in the U.S. These results are consistent with a hypothesis that spiroplasma diversity increases from north (Nova Scotia) to south (Georgia and Costa Rica). The discovery of significant affinity between some spiroplasmas of the southeastern U.S. and the Costa Rican highlands was unexpected, but may reflect a climatically complex Pleistocene history.

云南省虻类名录

本是作1989—1995年对云南省虻类调查的结果,共记述虻类2亚科、6属、123种和亚种及分布。其中已发表4个新种和一个未定种,19种是云南省新记录(右上角“*”标记)。     

云南虻科二新种：双翅目

1986年5月,从云南勐腊采回一批虻标本,经整理、鉴定,有2新种,现描述如下。模式标本保存在军事医学科学院。勐腊麻虻Haematopota menglaensis,新种(图1—4) 雌体长11～12mm,翅长11～11.5mm。 头:额灰黄色,高略大于基宽,为顶宽的1.5倍,基胛大,两侧接触眼,后缘中央     

Alighting sites of female Tabanidae (Diptera) at Rekomitjie, Zimbabwe

Twenty-one species of Tabanidae from four genera were recorded. Where samples were large enough, the preferred alighting sites were determined for the tabanids, and differences in such sites were found for species in three genera. The lower legs of the bait ox were the preferred alighting site for 61.8% of the flies. In the season of peak fly numbers, the bait ox was under stress from the tabanids.     

同域分布马鹿与中华斑羚的冬夏季食物构成比较

同域分布的有蹄类动物面临食物资源竞争,而食物又是影响野生动物生存的关键因子之一,研究不同种类动物的食物构成可以反映其对栖息地条件的适应程度。本研究通过粪便显微分析法,对内蒙古赛罕乌拉国家级自然保护区马鹿（Cervus elaphus）和中华斑羚（Naemorhedus griseus）的冬、夏季食物构成进行比较分析。结果显示,马鹿在夏季取食22科48种植物,中华斑羚取食15科31种植物;在冬季,马鹿取食17科32种植物,中华斑羚取食13科23种植物。Pianka重叠指数显示,夏季时马鹿与中华斑羚食物重叠度为85.4%,冬季重叠度为77.6%。使用Levins指数计算,夏季时马鹿与中华斑羚的营养生态位分别是13.71和5.34,冬季时分别是11.08和4.02。在同一季节,马鹿取食植物的丰富度和均匀度均大于中华斑羚。本研究结果表明,马鹿与中华斑羚的食物选择对季节性食物资源变化具有适应性,但马鹿对环境的适应性高于中华斑羚;鉴于马鹿的分布范围广、种群数量多,建议在对物种与栖息地的保护中侧重于中华斑羚。     

越南、老挝、柬埔寨麻虻属一些记述(双翅目:虻科)(英文)

本文记述越南、老挝、柬埔寨麻虻属９种,包括４新种：费尔查麻虻Ｈａｅｍａｔｏｐｏｔａ　ｆａｉｒｃｈｉｌｄｉ　ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．伯杰麻虻 Ｈａｅｍａｔｏｐｏｔａ　ｂｕｒｇｅｒｉ　ｓｐ．ｖｏｖ．、瞿氏麻虻 Ｈａｅｍａｔｏｐｏｔａ ｑｕｉｓｐ． ｎｏｖ．和沙拉湾麻虻 Ｈａｅｍａｔｏｐｏｔａ　ｓａｒａｗａｎｅｎｓｉｓ　ｓｐ．ｎｏｖ．     

Preliminary list of horse flies (Diptera, Tabanidae) of Serbia

Thirty six species of horse flies (Tabanidae) were previously known from Serbia (Europe). The present faunistic study of horse flies (Tabanidae) has resulted in the recording of the 4 new species Atylotus fulvus (Meigen, 1804); Tabanus miki Brauer in Brauer and Bergenstamm, 1880; Tabanus unifasciatus Loew, 1858; and Heptatoma pellucens (Fabricius, 1776), in the fauna of Serbia. The genus Heptatoma Meigen, 1803 is cited for the first time in the fauna of Serbia. 40 species are currently known from Serbia, belonging to nine genera. The fauna can be considered relatively poorly studied. Most of the species belong to the Boreal-Eurasian type of fauna 23, followed by the South European group with 8 species, the Mediterranean group with 6 species, European group with 2 species and Central European group with 1 species.     

Comparison of sampling tabanids (Diptera: Tabanidae) by four different potential attractants

Synthetic and natural attractants in traps are used in many parts of the world to attract female tabanids. Certain attractants in different geographic regions may be ineffective or effective under different environmental conditions for horseflies. One‐octen‐3‐ol, as a compound present in bovine emanations, has a behavioural effect on many horsefly species and together with other phenolic compounds makes very effective attractant for this group of insects. As the attractiveness of the mixture of three chemicals (1‐octen‐3‐ol, acetone and ammonia solution in the proportions 5 : 3 : 2), aged donkey urine, lactic acid and fresh human urine is not yet known, it was studied in Eastern Croatia. The combination of those three chemicals and efficiency of natural attractants offers promising results. Tabanus was the most represented genus with 83% of the total collected tabanids. The chi‐squared analyses of the trapping data for canopy traps revealed that each of the attractants (mixture of three chemicals, aged donkey urine, lactic acid and fresh human urine) significantly increased the number of collected horseflies in comparison to those collected in unbaited canopy traps. Some species differences in relative response to different attractants were noted. Significantly, more specimens of Haematopota pluvialis were collected from canopy traps baited with the mixture of three chemicals when compared with traps baited with other attractants. Canopy traps baited with aged donkey urine collected significantly more Atylotus loewianus females than did traps baited with the mixture. The F‐test analysis of the trapping data for the genus Tabanus showed that there is significant difference between average number of collected specimens between mixture of three chemicals and other used attractants (lactic acid and human urine) except aged donkey urine. Finally, traps baited with the mixture of three chemicals (1‐octen‐3‐ol, acetone and ammonia solution) collected 14.5 times more tabanids than unbaited traps, whereas aged donkey urine, lactic acid, and fresh human urine‐baited traps collected 12, 3.9 and 2.5 times as many tabanids, respectively, than did unbaited traps. The mixture of three chemicals (1‐octen‐3‐ol, acetone and ammonia solution) and aged donkey urine appear to be very effective attractants for tabanids.