l:klkin. Schick Y Heinemann ( 1<:;71 ).
d c'-
L\j'!Crl .~2 e'j1l'cic" en .~el-lln(1" en Aml;rica Central: 7 e"pecies
dl' SI/\II/IIUlt entlt' !()'- ('/'ilt/florinl/I'; h l'''pel'lc'' en 1.1I/;·ollliOI)\: y
1') npl'Clc" ell Cllf"/'rhrd/il dClltlll dc !u" COJdhll'!lJll;\l'.
References
Belkin. J.!'J .• R.X. Schick and S. Heinemann. 1968.
\l\l"quitocs originally described from Aq;entina. Bolivia,
P,lrJguJY and Urut:uay. Contrib. Amer. Entomol. lnst. 4:<:;-29.
Bdkin. J.l\ .• S.J. Heinemann and W.A. Page. 1970. Culicidae
Ill' JJlllaica. Cuntrib. Amer. Ent. In,,t. 6:237-2-1.7.
Hdkin, J.H., R.X. Schick and S.J. Heinemann. 1971.
~l(l"quitocs originally described from Brazil. Contrib. Amer.
1'.11\(l11111\. In"t. 7:1·6.1.
Cook. E.E 1956. The Nearctic Chaoborinae (Diptera: Culicidae).
llniv. Minnesota Agric. Exp. Sta. Bull. 21 ~u -102.
n~ar. II.G. 1926. i'-:otes of Cort'l/irdla arrendicuiuta Grabham.
In.,ee. In"c \knstr. 14:150.
D~ar, H.<;. and R.C. Shannon. 192~. The American
Ch.I'l\1llflllac. 1I1\cl.:. Insc. i>1cn"tr. 1~:'::(\1-21fl.
I.anl'. j. 19.39. Nllte" on nl'nhernatl1phagllu" Culicidae. HoI. BioI.
(11-'.) 4:99-1 U.
larll'. L 19W_ Nlln hcmat()nha~ou" Culicidae (second paper) Bol.
In: Hurlbert,S.H.and Villalobos-Figueroa,A.(eds.) 1982: Aquatic
biota of Mexico,Central America and the West Indies.-San
Diego,California,529 pp.
CHIRONOMIDAE
Friedrich Reiss
Introduction
The nematoceran family Chironomidae (syn. Tcndipcdidae) is the
most important group of aquatic insects both from a qualitative and
quantitative point of view, Larvae and pupae of the different
"peL'ie" colonize all types of natural and artificial waters. such as
l'uld and hot springs. creeks and river~. Jakes, ponds. small ponds,
small ['nob. axillary waters of plants. as well :1<; rescrv'oirs, water
tall\.. '-. canal", and rice fields. Some panheDogcn<:tic species
(\lIO!1IIl' even urban water supply systems. Ma~"ive occurrences ()f
tk !.Inac ~lI1d ima):inc" ofrl:!1 re4uire chcmica!. bil'lot:ica! or
\llll'~'r;lkd ((llltrol r:ll';\'l:n:" i Ci!(',;h~tu" I Ins). f\.hny "pccics of the
,ubl.llllily Ortrh1l'Ltdllna<.: kad "crnircrrc<.;t!lal iin:s in nHli"t
h.lb!!.I!' or arL' c(l[npktc!y tl'rre,tll:iI. hlfthcrl1lore. the
('I!II'lll(lIllH\;t,,: i" th.: Ilfl!y 1Jl'.n:t Ltnlilv til:lt II:!" c"lolll/cd the
1I1.1111ll· liltllr.d hl'lifh"", and I" rl"prl"l'IIl<'d [i1lrc by ,n'cr:tl t!L'lIl'1<l
.1I:d "'Pl'll\, ... III the subtaillihl..'" 'kllJlatu~'ct(lnill;le, Or1hm:ladllluc
alld (·illnlllol1lin:tc.
Chltl'1l11rniJ larvac arc mainly herbivores or detritovon:s. Some
1,1\<1 ;Ul' partially or obli,l2atorily carnivorous. e.g. species of the
.. uht.mllly 'bnyp\)dinae and of the Ifamischia group of genera in
the "uhtamily Chironl)minae
The {(ltll 1Ill't<llT1orphosi-;. from egg to the hatched imago. requires
11\1111 a minimum of I weck to a maximum of several years,
4J3
La lmica clave t:cncra! cii'p\mibk c" 1a de Lane, 195.' l. la '-'I.
solo para fnrmal., adultas. Las lan·a" y pupas pu",'dcn "cr
idl'lltitil';lda" ,,\'11\) ha";\ tiihUl'lI c"a cLtve. ~Lly Lllllhll;n Ull.l l·!:t\C
par;1 ludo' Ill" c..,tadp" P;\I;I .I;\lI\;lll·.I, 1'1l'" . .·IIt.\\h PI" Ih-!klll.
I kllll'll\;\1l1l \' Pa~'",' ( Ilno).
Lane, J. 19~2. Dixinac e Chaob(lrinac. Revisao dJ . . c"pccie ...
neotropicas. Rc\', Entomol. D:X 1-14X.
Lane. J. 1953. Ncntrorical Culicidae, Vo\. I. University of S~in
Paulo. Brasil. 54S pr.
Lane. J. and T.G.H. Aitkin. 1957. Chaobnrinae from Trini(!aJ,
B.W.1. Ann. Lntonw\. Soc. Amer. 49:530-5-1.3.
Miyagi. I. 1975. A hacllIatnphagous Corerhd/a from Jap,\!1.
JJpart. Jour. Sanitary hlu\. 2():25·2().
Roth, J.C. and S. Parma. 1970. A Cllllohorus bibiiognphy,
Bull. Entomol. Soc. Amn. 16: 100-110,
Sadhcr. O.A. 1977. Two species of Chuohorus from V.:nezuela.
Acta. BiD). \·enCl. 9:IY5-2i2.
Stont'. A. 1969. F:lmily Chauhurid;!\.', fa,l'. J 1: l-S. In: N. P~q'\l':O
(cd.), A l'atal(,~ul' \1: the l)q1tcra 1'; rh-.' ,\:ll ...·ri...-;, ... I.,(1:J!h (11 tLl
United States. Dept. fuo!'. Send. A~ric. S:H) Paulo.
Williams, .J.A. and J.n. Edman. 1')6~. Oc(urreI1C '':: ()f bi'.",K~
meals in twp srecic~ of Corcr/rrdla in Flnrida. Ann. Ent(l!:1<)I,
depending on the species, the water temperature and tr.~
availability of food for the larvae, The Amazonian srei:icl.,
Chironomus stren:kei Fittk. requires about 1 week for its life
cycle. \vhcreas Chirol/(ImllS gigas Reiss. a spc;i(.'" inhabiting the
same region. requires 10-12 weeks. Within thc"e extremes nw"t
tropical chironomid specics probably produce "cver:_t1 til many
generatiom per year.
The larval sta~e comprises more than 9(Y; of tl'c life cycle. Pq1;tl
and illlat:H1~tl ..,ta~e, an.: . . huI1. The il1l:lgU (l!lly li\c,- fllr 1 In a fl",\
Jays. Du:int,: fhi" pL'rllld it fcc,j.., ,)11 pLint l'\.l!lbt~',. ;!nd tlLI' tll.:
cnl'f~y IC\juirl'lII""llh (1f rl';)rt)dll(ti\ll1 ;~r ...' 1J1~'! C\'i'til.lii,'il ~\"U;l:l\
take, place 111 till' ;111 Wlll'll sillrk kr'Llk.., .Il ' i';(l,l,·h :1;<.' ,,\\.;[!lii;:~·
11I.lle ... S\lllt.: "llL'l'lL" ;1I\.' kllllWll t(l ,'''FuLlll' OJ) ,I "ld,,!!.l!,'. '.t!,li .: ...
tht: "0", \';tin. \11 \q'CLltlllll
Thl' larvae of mall}' ci1lfolloll1iJ ",pL·lie . . SilllW h,l!>l!.lt prl'!"!~'ll\·t",.
They can therefore he lIsed a" indic"tnr or~~l!1!'im" for \\ :\\L'r
quality and ih altcmation by m~ll1\ activities.
Chironornidae occur worldwide. Many specics ha\'l' wide
geographic di ... trihutions \.\'hich, hll eX;i'npk, m:ly compri"c tbe
entire H\)!arctic or Palac\1tropic rl'!,;ion .... Only a few Uxa ha\c
been found to bl..' restricteJ to smal! gl'o12raphic areas; e. ~. s<'me
species of the Pod()nl)minal' are cfll.kmic to the southern And.: ....
lTp tonow no "pecic'> of chironomid is known to he endemic to a
"in~k river sy~tcm or mountain ran~e. Speciation seems to
pr;)ceeJ \ery slowly in the Chironomidae. prohably hecause of
thl'ir ~reat capahilities for dispersal. Pkistocene-originated
~r\xl;l!i()I1" a . . /t)ulld in other ~rnups of aquatic insects. are not yet
knm\ n for the chirlHh)mids.
At prl·\L'nl. nnly [()ll~h c-.tirnates of the numher of recent species
can he made. In Lurnpe. where the chinHlOmid fauna is known
hctter than anywhcre cl"e in the world. 1..+04 "pecics have heen
rq'i..,kred. Out of thc"e, 9.1~; have heen de.;cnhed within a period
of on I y I () YL' ar" (Fi tt kau and Rc i ss 197 Xl. H O\l,'e \"Cr, the
chirnll()lllid fauna In lar),!e parts of Europe j" imufficiently known
or Iwt krwwll at all. Thi" i" true tor the ~1cditerranean re~ion and
the tundra of 11llrti1crl1 Europe. It i" to he su"pected that
6.()On 10.(\(1(1 l'himn,)fl1id "pl'l'ie.., e'{j..,t wnrldv, ide.
The t,lllll\\ il1~ paplT . . can he recommended as an introduction to
thl' !;I'(1Tlll!ll~ ;ll1d It:rlnin{)I()~~: of thL' Chironolllitiae: Brundin
11)'\lla. Il)(,/): Ftttkau I<)h2: Hirh'noja 11)73: Rphack 11)71a.
II»/l.l. 1\)77h. 1975a: S,Il'thcr )lnlh. 1l)77c, 19X(): \LI . . (ln 191.'.
J\dd!!lIl'lal rl·t'I'fL'fll'l'\ may Ol' found in the chirpnllmid
bd':lt l ,:i'If'll\ III httl-...iLi, Rl·I.., ..... ;!;]d l1utlrILhkr (llJ7()) and in Ih
~U!)pkrIlL'nt (1llllfrichtcr and Rei~, I l)X I). J-urthermore. a
pUll lllil'al l·,i"r". "Chlwnu!1lu" - i\L\\~ktter on Chiro,wrnid
Rc"carL'i1" (httbu and Rei"s 1')67-1976, Fittbu. Rei,,, and
Subktt . . 1<)7Xn.1. \\ hich serves as an up-to-date information
~()Url'C In l·hiwnomidolo!!y.
The bihll\l~raphy of R.()~enberg (11)7S) li,>ts a selection of
impllrtant p.lper" on <'Jmpling methods and sample analysis for the
m;lcn)/oobenthos.
The ci1ironllll1ids of Central America arc much le,>s well known
than thp . . e of trnpical SOllth America. So far only ahout XO "pel'ies
han' ht'cn identlfll'd. However. it can he rnul2hly e-.timated that the
I1Ulllnn pf "Pl'I.·!'-" ..,hlluld he 1)00 - 2000. A great many of these
"pccic~ probahly will also occur on the South American continent.
There i.; no Central American lake or river in \\hich the
chircnlllniJ fauna has been "atisfactnrily analysed qualitatively or
quantitatively. Therefore. any generalizations concerning the
chirlllHl'nid fauna of Central America must be considered
tentative.
Central America helongs to the Neotropical faunal region. with the
exception of most of Mexico. and its chironomid fauna is
Q,11du[('t\ accordin),!ly. Only a fcv, specie" appear to have their
orl~in in the Nearl'lic region. LikC\\i . . e. only a few of the
\clllrop:cd t;l \a "(,L'm to h:lv(' mi~r;ltcd to the ~can:tic region. and
tho"l' r:l(l'.t\ pnly :I" I:tr ;1 .... the <.,putherTl purtioll. A typical clement
of (he :\C('l!opi,..:al fauila i" the )2enu\ Go,-/ciichiroIlOfllUS, which is
r~'i)rneflll'd hy '.ner;!1 ~recie.; iii Ccntral America. hut which is
a~'l) prc'~'llt In the . . illjth"TIl l\1111'd Stdll'-..
Till' cndl'IllIClty Ill' chlflllhlrnid-. in (\'l1tral America j.; difficult to
CV;t!U;IIC at p!e~,ent. Sc\eral l'hir,lI1omid )2cnera and specie.; have
been idl.'l1:ifil·d that so far h.lve occn found only' in Central
America. H(lwever. their full ),!eo!,!raphic di-.tribution is not
known. The ell.'\atilln~d variation of the Central American
chir,H1t)m:d Luna is cUITL'ntly hard tn delermine. In the l(mlands
we tind pred,l[11I11antly ~pecics of the suhfamilies Chironominae
;ind TmYP(ldin;\e, as is usually the case in the tropics. In the
rUlIllin)2 water . . of the mountainous region". species of the
subfamily Orthoc1adilllae "cern In he more ahundant. There are
indil·ation . . th,lt "(ll11e ,t:cnera of the . . ubfamily Orthoc1adiinae may
h(' endellli,-' to Central America and may hc related to African taxa
(Sactlier 19x I). \1oulltain streams of Central America seem to
COllf;lin more repre"entative<, of the '>uhfamily Orthocladiinac than
C(lI11I';ILlhk \trL':1Il1" PI' tfopil'al South Amt:rica. Thcrefore, Central
AlllCril';l pU\"lbly l'Oldd he viewed a . . a /oorl'ographically
illlkpclldent suhrq.:iol1 ..... eparate fmm tropical South America.
434
Totally unknown is the hi~h mountain fauna of Centr;1I Am,·!h.•I. II
is unknown \\ hether clement." llf the Nearctic d1irllnolllld I.lllll.1 .Ht"
prc'>ent in this type of envirunment a!>. thL'Y are Oil till' \\lk ,11111\ \11
the highlands of Central \kxico (. . ee RL'i,,~ I l02a. Sell;! lll'lll
1977b).
Some marine chironomid "pL'ciL'''i he1nnging to the "'UOLlIlldlL'\
Telmatogetoninae (Wirth 19(1»). Orthocladiin:lL' (l{(lr;I\.·j.; 11171 h)
and Chirnnnmin;te (BrehChko Il)X I) arL' kn()\\. n Irom thl' ('clltr ,II
A me ric a n coa"t. The mo" t rece n t com pJl at illn on Ill;tr I Ill'
chironomids including a key to the genaa i~ Ha"himntll ( 197h).
For the ncar future. studi" . . cnncerning chironomid"i of CL'ntr;,1
America should he primarily faunistic and taxonomic In
orientation. Only through this approach can a !>.olid foundation for
subsequent ecological and applied "tudics be laid,
La familia nl'mall)L'era de \(l\ Chirnl1(lmidac (<'If1. 'Ii:ndipedilbe) l'"
el ~~rllp() m:;.., imp(llL!Il!L' lk in\el:!ll., acu.iti~·ll"', tanto dC\~k cI
pUlltll dL' \ 1,,(<1 L'llantlt;lIi\ () l'om\l L·ualIL,tIVO. 1.:(\ Lifva, y pup;" tiL'
la . . di'L'r\a, L'~p(:t'il''; Collllli/an !utln tl[1U de at'll:!. tanto n:tturak,
como artlficlaiL'-;, tak . . C()fIIU t IIl'nle" fria" y tL'rlll;dl'';. 4uehrada-;,
bgm. l.·har,:as, [X'quelHh dWfCO-., "t!ua axilar de Lt . . plan!;! .... a"i
como re-'L'rvorios. tanqllc,; de agua. canale . . y (ampo~ de alTol.
AI),!unas c . . pecics par!t.:rHlgl:nc!icas colol1ilan :tlJl1 los \1 ... tL'rna.; dL'
agua urhan,)s. La occlIIl'nl'ia ma . . iva de larvas e imago . . requi,'re a
menudo tratamientlls quimico". hillklglCOS 0 integrado" (Grodhaus
1975). Muchas espl'cie~ de la suhfamilia Orthoc1adiinac "on
semiteITes!res en hjhital" hunh:d~)s 0 compklamentc terre . . trcs,
Mas aun. Il)'; Chironilinidac <,(In la unica familia de insecto.., que ha
colnllilado el bellto-. IItmal marino y e,tan rcpre.;cntados alii por
varins rt~nems y C ... I"X,cie . . de las suhfarnilias TcJmatogetoninae.
Ortho(laLiiinac y ChirolHlll1lnac.
Las larvas de los quiron6midos son principal mente herhivoras 0
detritivoras, Algunos taxa son carnfvoros parcialcs u ohligados. p.
cj .. especics de Ia suhLtmilia Tanypodinae y del grupo Hamischill
de gcncros en la subfamilia Chironomin:.J.c.
La metamorf6sis total. de "de el huevo hasta cl imago ec1osilmadl).
requiere un minimo dc una semana hasta un maximo de varios
anos. <.kpendicndo de la cspecie, de !J temperatura del agua y de la
di"ponihilidad de alimento para las larvas. La c!-.pecic amatlmica
Chir(lf/Om:lS srrclI:kt'i httk. fl'ljuiere c(rca de una scmana para su
cicio de vida. 1111(:nt::1" qllL Clzirollo/!1uS Xigus Retss, una C"I'X:cic
que hahit~l ]a Illi"ma rq!i(ln. nl·ce . . ita 10 a 12 semanas. La mayurla
de las e'.pecic" trllpi\.. ak . . de Chiwnomidae producen varia,> ()
rnucha.., gclleraclone . . por aI'1\), dentm de los extrel110s scrlalados.
Los ("ladlo\ !an ;tk'i ab:uL"trI j;)js del 9()(i( del C1ch) vital. Los
e~tadios de pupa e lIll:l!C(\ .... (In cllrtll..,. EI ima)...:o vive un dia 0 pocos
dia~. Durante (,,,Ie peril 1dl) . . 1.' ;.dl!l1enta de las e'{udaciones dL' las
planta'i. cumpliendo as! COil 1o" rcqucrimicnto-. cnergcric()s para la
reproducci,\n. La copula generalmcnte ticnc lugar en el aire
cuanLlo una hemhra se aCCfC:l al enjambre dL' machos. Algunas
e~pccies copulan en su~[r~!tos talcs como cl sudo, la supaficic del
agua y la vegctacll1n.
Las larvas dc muchas especies de quirnn6midos mucstran una
fuertc sL'Jcctividad por los h.lhitats, Por 10 tanto, puedcn ser usados
como organi"mo" indicadl)rc~ de la caliJad del agua y de las
alteraciones que clla ..,ufrc pur la actividad humana.
Los ChirnI10midac c'{i . . !cn en totlo cI mundo. Muchas especies
tienen distribucionL's gcograficas amplias. las cualcs pueden
comprender. por ejemplo, toda la regi6n Hol~irtica. 0 e1
Pa1co[f()pico. Solo unos pocm taxa ticnL'n areas geogr:'ificas
IX'quclla~: p. ej., alplIla" e"pecics de Podonominac son cndemicos
de 10 ... Andes surerlOs. lla...ta ahora no se Cllnoce ningun
qllirPIH1mido quc ... ea endcmico de lin solo sistema hidrogrMico 0
C\lkna montaiiosa. La espceiaeion parcel' scr lenta cn los
Chlfll(wmidae. dchdo probablcmentc a su gran capJcidad de
dl\l'cr~i{m. La especiaci()n de orfgcn p1cistocenica que se
l'1ll'UClltL.l en o:ro" grupos de insectos acu;iticos, no se conoce en
111\ quirl1!H)lllidos.
A,:tll.t1mcntc st')lo ~e puedcn haccr torpcs estima('iones del numero
de C'f''l'I(' recientes. En Europa. dO;1JC Ia fauna de quiron6midos
'c \.'1)11\1\.'( Ill\.',l()r que en partc algu:la, sc han rcgistrado I A04
c'pccics lk cstas. 9. I (;f, se han dcscrito en un pc dodo de
W!.lllll'nll' J() ~1I10S (Fittkau y Rci ... s 197X). Sin embargo. la fauna
Ill' qU!rI)IHimld()" csta in ... uficientemcnte conncida en muchas
p.lIte, dt: Lumra. 0 es cnmpktalllcnte dc ... conocida. A... f IK'l)rrC en
1.1 rl'~!\ln dd Ilh.:ditcrr.inco y en la tundra del norte de l::urllpa. Sc
pucdc 'ompcchar que en eI mundo existen 6.000 a 10.000 especies
de ljlllfllJ1l11nidos.
\'1\, \I~uit'ntc ... trabajos puc den recomcndarse como introducci6n a
1.1 1.IWIlOlllia y a la terminologfa de los Chironomidae: Brundin
111<ih,l. Jl)66; Fittkau 1962; Hirvcnoja 1973; Rohack 1971a.
l'i7I',I. 1l)77~. 19na: Saether 1971h. 1977c. 19S0; \bson 1973.
I'tH'den halLtr',e rcfercncia" adicic na1cs en la hihli(lgrafia de
1
'lilli"!l\)11lid\l\, de Fittkau. Rei" ... y Hnffri~'hter (11)76) Y cn
\!:;,L,·Pll.'flt!l i Huffri,'htc: y Rei"" 1l)~ 1)' \Li" aun. existe una
l'td'lic,Il'llll1 pl·r;\)dll'C!. "Chinll1t1I11Us ,- t\cw:--tcttcr on Chin'nnrnid
Rc'c.lrl.·h" (hUkau y Reiss 19(,7-1476. Fittkau. Rei ... " y Suhlette
1'J'''S ~ '!l' ) qu;: ... irvc cumo fuente de inf(\rrna(:i~')n al.:tu;.t1ilada en
qUIII'IH'lIl1d\)!0t: ia
I .1 bll'll\)~raria
dc Rosenherg (19 7 8) li"ta una seleccion de trahajos
IIIlP,l(t;lllte'o sobrc metodos y analisis de mucstreo para el
11)," n~/\l"t~ntl)S.
I '" ljlllwn6midos de America Central son mucho mcnos
\III]I)o,.hll)'" qlle :.:qucllos de Sudamerica tropical. S('!amente 80
npnll'\ h,lI1 "ido ientitil'adas ha"ta la fecha. Sin embargo se puede
("tl11\.1[ .l'11l"cramente quc el ntlIllerO de espccies serla entre 1500 y
~(HI(I I!n .l'ran numcro de estas especies probahlcmente se
('1";.Jl'lltr.1 tamhicn en Sudamerica. No hay ningun lago ni rfo
U'lllrll;lllll'flcano para cl cual la fauna de quironomidos haya sido
, .1 I I , I a t' II) r I a men tea n a liz a d a. y a sea c II a lit a t i v a 0
l'U.llllll.ltIV;I111cntc. POf 10 tanto. cualquier gcneralizacion
\.IHkl'lIllcllte a la fauna de quiron()midos de Am¢rica Ccntral debe
..cr ..:pn"'llh.'rada tcntativa.
Con Ia C'l'.cqx:i()n de la mayor parte de Mexico. America Central
r~.'rtrnccc a la region faunhtica Neutropical y su fauna de
References
~\lt(': The letter designations accompanying the year of
l'uhl1l'.ltioll tor certain citations cprrcspond in all cases to the letter
d"I)':l,!II""'" elllployed in the "ihlio~·raphic-. of Fittkau. Reiss and
1i'::II,lttl'f \)')7(,) and Hul1rid1tcr and Rei ...... (llJXl).
n"~. EX. 1'>6~ h. An an~!Iy"is of the "sayulc" (Diptera:
n u i ~ a n c cat San Carl () s. N i car a g u a. and
l h I I " 11 \ \ III \\ L! I')
ICl.\ll1lll1l'lIlbtIlHl\ for isis alleVIation. World Health Organization
I II\, ,,,'fll'''' W HOE B L20. WHOVector ControlS6; 18 pp.
\ rllilll('''f.'L)
nu~. L(, .• L Dominguez and N. Escohar. 1966. A second
qll\l'~ ld' rhl' l'hironomid midge problem at San Carlos.
i\" .1' .1):11.1 \\'\'r1d lkalth Or~ani/ation EBL series WHOEBL66.
;,~ I) PI'. (1llI!llC(l~r.)
Un'hrhko. (;. l'>SI. First record of the genus POf1(omyia Edw.
435
quirnn6midos c"ui cstrul:turada de manna corre<,pondicl1tL'. St"10
una ... pocas especies parecen hahcrse ori~inado en la rq!llin
Neartica. Por otra parte. s610 un numcro redu.:ido dc taxa
neotropicales parcce habcrse extendido a la region Nea;tica y estos
en su mayorfa. lIegan s610 haqa la parte sur de esta region. Un
elemento tfpico de la fauna neotropical es cJ gencro
Gocldlchironomlls. el cual esta reprc'ocn~ado pm varias e:-pccics en
America Central pem tambien sc encucntra en cl sur de k)s Esudus
Unidos.
Acrualmentc cJ endcmismo de los quiron6mido... en Am~nl.:a
Central e ... dificil de e\·aluar. Han sido idcntificados varios gcncros
y especics de quiron()midos que hasta la fccha s('llo ... " han
encontrado en America Ccntral. Sin emhargn. su dl ... trihucil.l!1
gcogr{ifica completa. se licscono('c aun. Las vari~H:ioncs
altitudinalcs de la fauna de quiron()mid()s ccntftlaml.'ric:ltw ... ,on
dificilcs de dcterminar. En las tierra ... bajas encontramn ... Ci,H1lO
predominantes a espccics de las subfamilias Chironominae y
Tanypodinae. como suck ser el caso cn las fl'giones tropicalcs. En
aguas corrientes de las rq:il.mcs montail{)"as, p.lrCl·cn ser mas
abundantes especies de Ia !o.ubfamil ia Orthlh:ladi mac. Hay
indicaciones que algunos gcneros dc la suhfamilia Orthodadlinae
puedcn ser cndemicos en America Central y pudie"en e"tar
relacionados con taxa african!~s (Saethcr I ()S I\. Lo'o arroyns de
n1t'ntana de America Central parccen conte ncr mas representantes
dc la suhfami:ia OrtbncLtdiin,!c que arruytls <,cmc;antc;;, de
Sudamerica twplcal. Pur 10 tanto. po"iblemcl1tc se podria
cOI1siderar a America Central como una subrcgil'lO loogC()gr{lfica
di ... tinta de Sudamcrica tropil"11.
La fauna de alta mnntana dc America Central es totalmente
desconocida. No se sahe si estan prcsentes ekmentos de la fauna
de quironomidos ncarticns como In estan en los vokancs de las
tierras altas de Mexico central (vcr: Reiss 1972a. Serra-Tosio
1977b).
En las costas de America Central ~e conocen algunas cspecies de
quiron6midos marinos pertenecientes a las subfamilias
Tclmatogetoniinae (Wirth 1969), Orthocladiinae (Roback 197 J b)
Y Chironominac (Bretschko 19X I). La rccopilacic'ln mas rCl:lcl1te
de los quironomidos marinos ha sido rcalilaJa por Ha ... himoto
(1976) e incluyc una clavc para los gCI1eros.
Para el futuro cercano. los e"tudios sohre los quironl)midos de
America Central dcberan tener una orientacion primariaml'nte
faunlstica y taxon6mica. Solamente de esta manera se comtruira
una base s6lido para la realizaci6n de posteriores estudios
cco16gicos y aplicados.
(Diptera. Chironomidac) in the Caribbean Sea. Smithsonian
Contr. Mar. Sci. (in prcss). Larvae and female pupac of a prohahly
partheno!!cnetic srcl'ie~ of Pontonlyia twm the cpast of lklile.
Larval' f()und in snillllclIts in waIn as del'p a'> ,~() m,
Bn.'lOnik. P.L. and J.L. Fox. 1'>7 .... The 11Il1llllll'gy llf "l'kl'ted
Guatemalan lakes. Hydrohiologia 45: 467-4~7. Some quantit:ttive
estimatcs of larval ahundances of different chirm1l'mid t!.::n..:ra
(Coc/ot(1nYPlis. Procladius. Chirollomus. Einfcldia; in the
benthos.
Brundin, 1... 1956a. Zur Systcmatik der OrthocJadiinae (Dipt.,
Chironomidae). Rep. lnst. Frcshwat. Res. Drottningholm 37:
5-185.
Brundin, L. 1966. Transantarctic relationships and their
sign i ficance. ev idenced by charonomid midges. With a
monograph of the subfamilies Podonominac and Aphrotcniinae
and the austral Heptagyiae. K. Svenska Vetensk. Akad. Hand!.. I I :
1-.+72 .
Cheng, L. and C.L. Ho~ue. 1974. New distribution and habitat
records of hiting midges and mangrove flies from the coast of
southern Baja California. Mexico (Diptera: Ceratopogonidac.
Culicidae. Chironomidae. and Phoridae). Ent. News 85: 211-218.
Report of Smittia sp.
Cockerell, T.n.A. 1915. A new midge from Guatemala. Can.
Ent . .+7: 315-316. Description of Chironomus guaitemllitecus
n.sp. 9.
Coquillett, D. W. 1900b. Report on a collection of dipterous
insects from Puerto Rico. Proc. U.S. Natn. Mus. 22: 249-270.
Cowgill, li.M. and G.E. Hutchinson. 1966. La Aguada de Santa
Ana Vieja: The history of a pond in Guatemala. Arch. Hydrohiol.
62: .:n5-372.
Curran, C.H. 1928. Insects of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
Diptera or two-winged flies. In: Scientific survey of Porto Rico
and the Virgin blands. (New )hrk Academy of Sciences) I I:
10- 13 Description of two new Cricotopus species from Puerto
Rico and Cuha.
Curl1', L.L. 1974. The midge fauna (Diptera. Chironomidae) of
the L:. S. and British Virgin Islands; the genera Goeldich/rmlOmus
and S/o/illlyill. Ent. Tidskr. 95 (Suppl.): 58-65. Description of the
complete metamorphosis of G. ama;:onicus and G. /toioprasillus.
with a hricf statement on biology and distrihution in the Virgin
Islands.
Curry, L.L. and M.C. Curry. 1971. The Chironomioae (Diptera)
found in the Virgin Islands and Anegada. British Virgin Islands.
Can. Ent. 103: 310-314. An annotated list of 16 chironomid
species from 12 genera; based on larvae and partially reared
imagos.
Elliott, J.M. and P.A. Thllett. 1978. A bibliography of samplers
for henthic invertebrates. Occas. PubIs. Freshwat. BioI. Assoc.
(Amhlcside) 4: 61 pp.
Fittkau, E.J. 1962. Die Tanypodinae (Diptera, Chironomidae).
Die Trihus Anatopyniini. Macropelopiini und Pentaneurini. Abh.
Larvalsyst. Insekten 6: 1-453.
Fittkau, 1968b. Sio/imyill amazonica n. gen. n. spec .. eine
flllgtahigc Chironol11ide (Diptera) mit einem Hypopygium
invcrsllm. Amazoniana 1: 259-265. First record from Nicaragua.
Fittkau, E.J. 1978. 5ich ahzeichnende Verbreitungsmuster in der
neotropischen-nearktischcn Chironomidenfauna. Mitt. Deut. Ges.
All!!. Angcw. En!. 1: 77-'1) I. General zoogeographic aspect of
wa;m- and cold-adapted chironomid taxa in the Neotropical
region.
Fittkau, E.J. and E Reiss, (cds.). 1967 - 1976. Chironomus.
Mitteilungen aus lier Chirnnomidenkunde. PIon.
Fittkau, E.J. and E Reiss. 1979. Die zoogeographische
Sonderstc1lung der ncotropischen Chironomiden (Diptera).
Spixiana 2: 273-2RO. Summarizes present systematic and
zoogeographic understanding of the Chironomidae of tropical
South American lowlands. A still largely unknown part of this
fauna is to he expected in Middle America.
Fittkau, E.J., F. Reiss ami O. HofTrichter. 1976. A bibliography
of the Chironomidae. Gunneria 26: 177 pp. Lists about 6400
works. puhlished up through 1974, which deal entirely or in part
with chironomids.
.'ittkau, E.J., F. Reiss and J.E. Sublette (eds.). 1978ff.
Chironomus. Mitteilungen aus der Chironomidenkunde.
MUnchen.
Gerry, D.1. 1932. A new species of Chironomus from Jamaica
436
(Chironomidae). Psyche (Camhridge) 39: 69-71. Iksmptllll\ \11
the male imago of Chirollomus pseudojascillta n.sp.
Gerry, D.1. 1933. Four new species of Chironomidac frlllll Ihl'
Greater Antilles. Psyche (Cambridge) '+0: 9'+-97. Dcscnpllllll III
the male imago of a new species and the male and femall- 1I11;lI-'0\
of two new Chironmnlls species.
Goulden, C .E. 1966b. The animal microfossils of La~lIn;l de
Petenxil. Guatemala. Mem. Connecticut Acad. Arh Sl..'i. '7:
84-120.
Grodhaus, G. 1975. Bibliography of chironomid midge nui\;lIl~'C:
and control. California Vector Views 22:71-R I.
Harrison, A.D. and J.J. Rankin. 1975. Forest litter and "Ul';1111
fauna on a tropical island, St. Vincent. West Indies. Verh. 1111
Verein. Limno\. 19: 17'36-1745. Larval ahundan~:c of some
chironomid species in tropical mountain hrooks and strl'ams.
Harrison, A.D. and J.J. Rankin. 1976. Hydrohinlo!,!ical .. tudIC\
of Eastern Lesser Antillean Islands. I. St. Vincent: Freshw;lkr
hahitats and water chemistry. Arch. Hydrobio1. Suppl. 50: 96-144.
Ecological data on 24 chironomid species from various standing
and t10wing waters at different elevations.
Hashimoto, II. 1976. Non-biting midges of marine hahit:t"
(Diptcra: Chironomidae), pp. 377-414. In: L. Ch~n~ (cd.). Mafln~
inserts. North Holland Pub\. Co .. Amsterdam, Oxford, Ne ....
)hrk. Summary of all known species of marine chironolllid .. ;
includes a key to genera.
lIinenojn, M. 1973. Revision dcr Gattung Cricotl'{1IH van dl'r
Wulp und ihrcr Vcrwandten (Diptera. Chironomidae). Ann. Zoo!.
Fenn. 10: 1-363.
Hoffrichter, O. and F. Reiss. 1980. Supplement I. A
bibliography of the Chironomidac. Gunncria 37:68 pp. Lists ahout
1800 additional works on chironomids puhlishcd hcfore mid-1979.
Hynes, II.B.N. 1971. Zonation of the invertebrate fauna in a West
Indian stream. Hydrobiologia 38: 1-8. Vertical zonation of
Tanytarsini larval abundance in a Trinidad stream.
Johannsen, O.A. 1938. New species of Nematocera from Puerto
Rico. J. Agric. Univ. Puerto Rico 22: 219-226. New descriptions
of the imagos of 5 chironomid species. with mention of some other
species.
Johnson, C.\V. 1913. The dipteran fauna of Bermuda. Ann. Em.
Soc. Amer. 6: 443-452.ChirorlOmus cristatus Fabr.. Orrhoc/adiuJ
sp. and Afetriocnemus knabi Coq. arc recorded.
Kieffer, J.J. 1921c. Description de quelques Chironomides
exotiqucs. AnnIs Soc. Scient. Bruxellcs 40: 181-186. Description
of male imago of Nilodonan hctcmchirus n.sp. from Trinidad.
Laessle, A.M. 1961. A micro-limnological study of Jamaican
bromeliads. Ecology 42: 490-517. Reports larvae of Pentaneura
sp .. Chironomus sp. and Cry[>tochirollomus sp.
Lichtenberg, R. 1979b. Chironomiden aus Kolumhien I. Ein
Beitrag zur Verbreitung von Cryptoc!adopl'lma hoydi (Beck.
1972) (Diptera, Nematocera). Annln Naturh. Mus. Wien 82:
541-548. First report of Ciadopeima boydi from Mexico.
Locw, II. 186lb. Diptera aliquot in insula Cuha collecta. Wien.
Ent. Mschr. 5: 33-43. Description of male and female imagos of
Chirvnomus octopUllctalus n.sp.
Miller, A.C. 1971. Observations on the Chironomidae (Diptera)
inhabiting the Ieafaxils of two species of Bromcliaccae on 5t.
John. U.S. Virgin Islands. Can. Ent. 103: 391-396. Abundance of
larvae of Tanytarsus sp .• Metrionemus sp. and Penlaneura sp.
Pearse, A.S. 1936. Chironomid larvae from Yucatan. p. 151. In:
A.S. Pearse, E.P. Creaser and EG. Hall, The cenotes of Yucatan.
A zoological and hydrological survey. Carnegie lnst. Washington.
304 pp. Records the larva or imago of three inadequately
dClcnnincd chironomid species.
I't'arse, A.S. 1938. In~ects from Yucatan caves. pp. 237. 244. In:
A.S. Pear<,e (cd.). Fauna of the caves of Yucatan. Carnegie Inst..
\l,'a,hinglon. Records the pupae of Chironomus sp. and
I'.I/·w!ochironomus sp.
Picado, C. 1913. Les bromeIiacees epiphytes consideres comme
nubeu bio!ogique. Bull. Scient. Fr. Bclg .. 7'= Ser. 47: 280-295.
Good descriptions of the complete metamorphoses of
"Ahlahesmyia" costarricensis n. sp .• Metriocllemus
(lndominojh.l\·atus n. sp .. Cltiroc/adius pedipalpus n. gen .. n. sp.
and Chironomus sp. from Costa Rica; includes some information
on ecology.
Pocy, E 1851. Memorias sobre la historia natural de la Isla de
Cuba, acompanadas de sumarios latinos y extractos en francees.
Vol. I. 463 pp. Habana.
Rdss, E 1972a. Die Tanytarsini (Chironomidae. Diptera)
Sudd1i1es und Westpatagoniens. Mit Hinweisen auf die
l;II1Ylar .. ini-Fauna der Neotropis. Stud. Neotrop. Fauna 7: 49-94.
[)c\l'ription of the male imago of Paratanycarsus rolucensis n. sp
twm Mexico.
Reiss, E 1974c. Die in stehenden Gewa<,sern der Neotropis
vcrhreilcte Chironomidengattung Goe/dichironomus Fittkau
(Illptcra. Imecta). Stud. Neotrop. Fauna 9: 95-122. Sio/imyia as
nov ... yn. of Goeldichironomus. New record of C. ama:onicus in
l'uha and Mexico. and of G. ho!oprasinus in Cuba. First report of
G JluctudflJ n. sp. from the Virgin Islands.
Rohack, S.S. 1962a. Some new Tendipedidae from the Canal
Z~lnC. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia. Norulae Naturae 355: 1-10.
lk,~'riptions of the imagos of Thienenzaniella spreta n. sp .•
C"CtltO{Jll.\ tanis n. sp .. C. oris n. sp .. Cantom. . . ia cara n. gen. n.
'po and Chirunomus aversa n. sp .. as well as further data on
Je'l'nbed 'pccies. Identification key for neotropical Cricorvpus
'1'C(le, (male and female imagos).
Rohack, S.S. 1963c. New neotropical Coelo[anypus (Diptera.
'IC:ndipt·Jidae. Pe1opiinae). Ent. News 74: 169-176. Description of
the male imago of Coelotanypus cleris n. sp. from Jamaica.
Rohack. S.S. 1964a. A new Pelopia from Mexico (Diptera:
TcnJipcdldae). Ent. News 75: 141-143. Description of the male
Im;lgo of nmypus catemaco n. sp.
Rohack, S.S. 1964b. New record of Coelotanypus cleric Roback
(Dlplna: Tcndipedidae). Ent. News 75: 186. First report from
Cuha.
Roback, S.S. 1964c. Redescription and new records of
Col'lO[llIlYPUS humeraUs (Loew). (Diptera: Tendipedidae;
Pdllpiinac). Notul. Nat. 369: 1-4. New records for Cuba and
1\111,1111;\.
~lItHU'k, S,S. 19658. New ~pccic!. anJ records of Coe/oraflYPu..'i
IrlHI1 \1cxico and Central America with a key to the new world
~p("l'Il'S .. outh of the United States (Diptcra: Tendipedidae). Ent.
Nc:w, 76: 29-41. Description of the imago of C. to!tecus n. sp.
(~k(i(o) and C. o!m('CWi n. sp. (Mexico. Nicaragua). as well as
fl'(ords for described species from Panama and Mexico.
Roha<:k, S.S. 1971a. The subfamily Tanypodinae in North
Ameri(a (Diptera: Chironomidae). Monogr. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Philadelphia 17:1-410.
Rohack, S.S. 1971b. A new record and immature stages of Clunio
f,'(I\iiienJiJ Oliveira. with additional notes on the adults
(Chironomidae: Clunioninae). Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia.
Nlllulae Nalurae 444: 1-12. New record in Puerto Rico; and some
en1logi(al data.
437
Roback, S.S. 1976a. The immature chironomids of the Eastern
United States: I. Introduction and Tanypodinae - Coclotanypodini.
Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 127: 147-201. Major work on
the taxonomy of New World tanypodincs; metamorphoses;
identification keys.
Roback, S.S. 1977b. The immature chironomids of the Eastern
United States: II. Tanypodinae - Tanypodini. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci.
Philadelphia 128: 55-88.
Roback, S.S. 1978a. The immature chironomids of the Eastern
United States: III. Tanypodinae - Anatopyniini. Macropclopiini
and Natarsiini. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 129: 151-202.
Roback. S.S. and K.J. Tcnncssen. 1978. The immature stages of
Dja/mahatis[a pulcher (= Procladius (Ca!otaIlYpus) pulcher
(Joh.». Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 130: 11-20. First
reliable report of the genus Djalmabatista. previously regarded as
endemic to the Ncotropical region. from the Nearctic. Procladius
(Ca!otan_\'pus) Roback. 1971 is a nov. syn. of Dja!maharista.
Rosenberg. D.M. 1978. Practical sampling of freshwater
macrozoobenthos: A bibliography of useful texts. reviews. and
recent papers. Tech. Rep. Can. Fish. Mar. Servo 7l)O: 15 pp.
Saelher. O.A. 1971b. Notes on general morphology and
terminology of the Chironomidae (Diptera), Can. Ent. 103:
1237-1260.
Saelher, O.A. 1977c. Female genitalia in Chironomidae and other
Ncmatocera: Morphology. phylogenie~. keys. Bull. Fish. Res. Bd.
Canada ·197: 209 pp.
Saether, O.A. 1980a. A glossary of chironomid morphology
terminology (Diptera: Chironomidae). Ent. Scand. Supp!. 14:
1-51.
Saether, O.A. 1981. Orthocladiinae (Chironomidae: Diptera)
from the British West Indies. with descriptions of Antillocladius n.
gen., Lipuromerriocnemus n. gen .• Compterosmittia n. gen,. and
Dip!osmittia n. gen. Ent. Scand. Suppl. 16:46 pp. Description of
12 new species (male and. in most cases. female imagos; juvenile
stages in some species) from mountain brooks of St. Vincent and
St. Lucia.
Schlee, D. and W. Glockner. 1978. Bernstein. Bernsteine und
Bernstein-Fossilien. Stuttg. Beitr. Naturk. Ser. C. 8: 72 pp. First
report of fossil Chironominae and Orthocladiinae from the amber
of the Oligocene formation of the Dominican Republic.
Serra-Tosio, B. 1977b. Deux nouvelles especes de Diamesinac du
Mexiquc. Bull. Soc. Ent. Fr. 82: 99-104. Description of the imago
of Diamesa mexicalla n. sp. and D. reissi n. sp.
Sublette, J.E. 1967b. Type specimens of Chironomidae (Diptera)
in the Cornell University Collection. J. K~nsas Ent. Soc. 40:
477-564. Description of insulllnus n. gen.; Type species isfurcatus
Johannsen. 193R. Redescription of Chiroflomu.s llnOrl\,mus
Willi...ron and Trihdo.\ /uguhris (Willi,ton), new combination.
Suhkttc, J.E. and W. W. Wh1h. 1972. New gencra anu 'Ix:cics
of West Indian ChironomiJac (DipteraL Florid.! Ent. 55: 1-17.
Description of the imagos of 4 new Xestocilironomlls species from
Jamaica. Panama and Dominica. 1 Stenochirol1on!us ~pccies from
Dominica. Petaloc/adius sefoslI.s n. gen .. n. sp. and Arlcy!ocladius
relicinus n. gen .. n. sp. from Jamaica. Xcstociliroflomus proposed
as new name for iflSU!WIU5 Sublette. 1967.
Townes, H.K. 1945. The nearctic species of Tendipcdini (Diptera,
Tendipedidae (= Chironomidac). Am. Mid\. Nat. 34: 1-206.
Reports "Chirollomus" (= Coe!dichirollomll.s) carus n. sp. from
Venezuela. Panama (Canal Zone). Costa Rica; the species is also
known from Colombia and the U.S.A. (Tc:<.as. Florida).
Utermohl, H. 1958. Zur Gewassertypenfrage tropischer Seen.
Verh. Int. Vcr. Limnol. 13: 236-251.
Vargas. L. 19~6.
Jfacropelopia roblesi (Tendipedidae. Diptera) n.
sp. neotropical procedente de Chiapas. Mexico. Revta Inst.
Saluhr. Enferm. Trop. (Mexico) 7: 79-84. Description of a
prohahly hlood-sucking imago.
Vargas, L. 1952. Tendipes (Limnochironomus) califomicus y
Tendipes (Limnochironomus) Jigueroai n. sp. (Diptera,
Tendipedidae). Revta Soc. Mex. Hist. Nat. 13: 47-51. Ocurrence
in Mexico.
Vockeroth, J.R. 1949. Taxonomic studies in the Tendipedidae of
Mexico (Diptcra. Nematocera). Masters thesis. Univ.
Saskatchewan. 64 p.
CERATOPOGONIDAE
Willis W. Wirth
Introduction
The "biting midges" may be found in large numbers in nearly any
aquatic or semiaquatic habitat in all regions of the world. Because
of their small size (usually 1-4 mm) they are little collected and
poorly known compared with mosquitoes or tabanids. Adult habits
are diverse but most species are adapted to some type of
bloodsucking. Species of Culicoides. Lasiohelea. and
Leptoconops suck vertebrate blood: some are notorious pests.
especially in beach or mountain resort areas. Some Culicoides are
known vectors of diseases. including onchocerciasis of horses and
cattlc. bluetongue of sheep and cattle. horse-sickness. several
human filariases. and liaemoprott'lH and Leucocyto:oon diseases
of hirds. In Latin America the pestiferous species are known by the
common name of 'polvorinos' or 'jejenes.· and in the English
speaking West Indies they arc usually called "sand flies." All the
Ceratopogoninae. with the exception of the tribe Culicoidini. are
predaceous on soft-bodied insects, especially midges of the family
Chironomidae. Some Atrichopogoll and Forcipomyia species are
ectoparasitic on larger insects. Many genera (e.g. Dasyhelea) are
exclusively flower-visiting and feed on nectar, whereas many
others supplement their diet or have non-haematophagous species.
Species of Forcipomyia and DasyiJelea and small. hairy species of
some other ~enera arc important pollinators of cacao (Theobroma
cacao L.) and other tropical crops.
The immature Sla!!CS of Ceratopogonidac may be ferrestrial under
bark or on wet or damp wood (Forcipomyia); semiaquatic on wet
alga-covered soil. ""'ood or rocks (A triciJopogon , Dasyhelea. etc.)
or in wet. decomposing plant material such as cactus stems.
banana stalks. or leaf compost (Culicoides, etc.); or aquatic in
mud or wet sand on lake. pond, or stream margins, salt marshes.
tree holes. or water-holding plants. Most genera have aquatic
species which are usually found at or near the water margin or
water surface where they are associated with the interface of solid
substrate. water, and air.
The foremost pioneer in the study of Neotropical Ceratopogonidae
was Adolpho Lutz (1912-1914) working at the Instituto Oswaldo
Cruz in Rio de Janeiro. Brazil. J.W.S. Macfie (1937-1953). for
many years the foremost international specialist in this family.
described many Neotropical species. From 1944 to 1961 John
Lane of the Univcrsidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil. revised many
438
Williston, S. W. 1896. On the Diptera of St. Vincent (West Inlilt."'i).
Trans. R. Ent. Soc. London 3: 253-276. Description of the ima!-!lls
of 9 new species.
Wirth. W. W. 1969. New species and records of Gal~pa~os
Diptera. Proc. California Acad. Sci. 36: 571-594. Report of
Thalas'wmyia pi/ipes Edw. from the coast of Baja California.
Mexico.
Wirth, W. W. 1979. Siolimyia amazonica Fittkau. an aquatic
midge new to Florida with nuisance potential. Florida Ent. 62:
134-135.
Woke, P.A. 1947. Arthropods of sanitary importance in the
Republic of Nicaragua. Central America. Amer. J. Trop. Med. 27:
357. Brief mention of three forms identified only to genus.
genera of Neotropical biting midges. Fox (1948-1955) in Puerto
Rico. Floch and Abonnenc (1950) in French Guiana and
Guadeloupe. Vargas (1944-1969) in Mexico. and Wirth and
Blanton (1956-1978) in the U.S.A. published series of revisions of
the Neotropical species of bloodsucking Culicoit/cs. Saunders
(1956-1964). Soria and co-workers (1975-1976). and Winder and
Silva (1972) have published on the classification and biology of
the cacao-pollinating midges. Important studies on the biology and
control of Culicoides were made in Brazil by Forattini et al.
(1956-1960) and in Jamaica by Kettle. Linley and Davies
(1963-1973). Very little work has been done on the biology of
other aquatic ceratopogonids in the region, although there are
scattered papers by Breeland (1960)' Davies and Giglioli (I (79).
Williams (\957. 1964). and Woke (1954). Apparently a large
proportion of the Neotropical species have used aquatic situations
in water-holding plants. tree holes. and similar aerial habitats
(Wirth et al. 1968), possibly an adaptation to escape the severe
predation and other problems in ground-water biotopes. Wirth and
Blanton (1959) gave good summaries of the larval habitats and
known adult biologics of the Culicoides of Panama. and in 1974
gave a similar treatment for the West Indies species; Aitken et al.
(1975) similarly treated the bloodsucking ceratopogonids of
Trinidad.
Only a small proportion {If thc species of the South and Central
American biting midges have been described (Wirth 1474.
catalogue). and it is too early to make many generalizations about
the fauna and its biogeography. Genera with large numbers of
aquatic species are Atrichopogon, Das.vhelea, Culicoides,
Monohelea, Stilobe;;;;ia, and Palpom.via. The aql:atic genus
Be;;zia, very common and widespread in the northern hemisphere.
is 'poorly represented in tropical South and Central America. It
seems to have been largely replaced by two very prominent.
related genera. Paryphoconus. which is endemic to tropical South
and Central America. and Stenoxenus, which is pantropical.
Wirth and Blanton (1959) summarized the distribution of the
Panama Culicoides according to life zones; they found certain
spcics or groups of species were characteristic of each of the
humid tropical. arid tropical. subtropical (montane rain forest).
and temperate (temperate forest) life zones. Species or groups with