Ceratopogonidae

Name

Greek: keras = horn and pogon = beard.

Synonyms

Biting midges; Heleidae; Punkies in the USA; Sand flies of the Caribbean islands; Trivial: no-see-ums

General Information

This family of Diptera comprises four genera: Culicoides, Leptoconops, Lasiohelea, and Austroconops (Figs. 1–5). Culicoides is the most widespread and abundant with 800 species (Table 1). There are fewer species (120) of Leptoconops, but they are widely distributed, and their bite is even more painful than that of Culicoides. The genus Lasiohelea is as widely distributed as Leptoconops with relatively few species (150). Only one species is known of Austroconops (A. macmillanii) in Australia.

Fig. 1

LM of a female Culicoides obsoletus