The fauna of bloodsucking insects of the gnus complex (Diptera) of Northwest Russia. Analysis of distribution

The paper deals with the history of study, quantitative composition of the fauna, and landscape-zonal distribution of species of the gnus complex in the Northwest of European Russia (NWER). Despite more than 366 publications devoted to the results of studies of this region, its fauna of the mosquitoes, blackflies, biting midges, and horseflies remains insufficiently known. The data on the Karelia and Komi Republics and the west of Leningrad Province are more complete, while the vast forest-tundra and taiga territories in the northeast (Arkhangelsk Province and Nenets Autonomous Area), southeast (Leningrad and Vologda Provinces), and southwest (Pskov Province) of NWER remain poorly explored. Since knowledge of the fauna varies considerably between the territories, quantitative comparison of the different faunas within NWER cannot be performed correctly. Reporting geographical coordinates of the localities is strongly recommended in the distributional descriptions; this would make the descriptions of species’ ranges universal and available for various forms of generalizations.