Abstract
The diverse biting midge genus, Atrichopogon Kieffer, contains 476 species worldwide (Borkent & Picado 2004). The subgenus Meloehelea Wirth includes ectoparasitic species that feed on the haemolymph of blister beetles (Meloidae) and other related coleopteran families. There are 16 species of this subgenus, 10 of which occur in the Palaearctic, 3 in the Nearctic, 2 in the Holarctic and 1 in the Afrotropical Region (Wirth 1980, Szadziewski & Borkent 2004). Hitherto the subgenus Meloehelea has not previously been reported from the Neotropical Region.
References
Borkent, A. & Picado, A. (2004) Distinctive new species of Atrichopogon Kieffer (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from Costa Rica. Zootaxa, 637, 1–68.
Frenzel, M., Dettner, K., Wirth, D., Waibel J. & Boland W. (1992) Cantharidin analogues and their attractancy for ceratopogonid flies (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae). Experientia, 48, 106–111.
Huerta, H. (2001) A new species of the genus Atrichopogon Kieffer (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from Mexico. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 103, 373–375.
McAlpine, J.F. (1981) 2. Morphology and terminology - adults. In: Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Volume 1. Agriculture Canada Monograph 27, pp. 9–63.
Remm, H. (1988) Family Ceratopogonidae. In: Sóos, A. & Papp, L. (Eds.), Catalogue of Palaearctic Diptera Vol. 3. Akadémia. Budapest, pp. 11–110.
Storå, A. (1939) Mitteilungen über die Nematoceren Finnlands II. Notulae Entomologicae, 29, 16–30.
Szadziewski, R. & Borkent, A. (2004) Ceratopogonidae. In: de Jong H. (Ed.), Fauna Europaea: Diptera Nematocera. Version 1.1. Available from http://www.faunaeur.org/ (site visited on 30 Sep, 2007).
Szadziewski, R., Gilka, W. &. Anthon, H. (1995) Immature stages of two Europeanspecies of the subgenus Meloehelea (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae), with keys to the European subgenera of Atrichopogon. Entomologica Scandinavica, 26, 181–190.
Wirth, W.W. (1956) The biting midges ectoparasitic on blister beetles (Diptera,Heleidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 58, 15–23.
Wirth, W.W. (1980) A new species and correction in the Atrichopogon midges of the subgenus Meloehelea attacking blister beetles (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 82, 124–139.