Ceratopogonidae

Ceratopogonidae 

(also Heleidae), a family of insects of the order Diptera. Body length, 1–2.5 mm. The insects are distributed everywhere but are most numerous in forests. In the USSR there are 18 genera, of which three—Culicoides, Leptoconops, and Lasiohelea—are bloodsucking insects. The insects differ from the Simuliidae and Phlebotomidae in that they have 13- to 15-jointed antennae and wings that are usually spotted and lie flat on the abdomen when at rest.

The larvae and pupae of Ceratopogonidae develop in brooks, marshes, ponds, and moist earth. The larvae winter; the adults appear in April or May and disappear in September or October. Only the females are bloodsucking; they attack humans and domestic and wild animals. The insects are intermediate hosts of some species of parasitic worms that infest man (in the tropics) and domestic animals (onchocercosis in horses). Control measures include the use of various repellents.

REFERENCES

Gutsevich, A. V., and V. M. Glukhova. Melody sbora i izucheniia krovososushchikh mokretsov. Leningrad, 1970.
Gutsevich, A. V. Krovososushchie mokretsy. (Ceratopogonidae). Leningrad, 1973. (Fauna SSSR: Nasekomye dvukrylye, vol. 3, issue 5.)

A. V. GUTSEVICH