Culicoides imicola (biting midge)

The biting midge Culicoides imicola is a small, haematophagous fly that plays a key role in the biological transmission of viral diseases including bluetongue and African horse sickness (AHS) that inflict damage on both subsistence and intensive livestock as well as companion animals and wildlife. Within the subgenus Avaritia, the monophyletic Imicola group includes ten species, although cryptic diversity may hide the existence of additional species closely related to C. imicola. C. imicola has the broadest geographic range in the genus Culicoides, including most of the African continent, the Mediterranean basin and parts of southern Europe, the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia to Taiwan. The broad distribution of C. imicola illustrates exploitation of anthropogenic habitats and may allow future expansion into new areas. Long-distance movement of adults, especially over the sea, has been proposed and may facilitate this geographic expansion.