Indian Journal of Small Ruminants (The)

Culicoides midges are biological vectors of the bluetongue virus (BTV) and serve as the primary means of transmission. Astudy was conducted in the vicinity of a sheep shed to know the prevalence and seasonal abundance of dominant Culicoides spp. The Culicoides midges (a total of 14287) were collected from the sheep shed located at Veterinary College, Bidar (Karnataka) from September, 2004 to July, 2005 at monthly intervals using down draught light trap (220 volts) equipped with 8 watts black light tube. The maximum abundance of midges was noticed during the month of September which declined drastically till December. A total of eight species were identified, Culicoides imicola and C. oxystoma appeared consistently with higher abundance throughout the study period. The study suggested continual breeding activity of these two species in the locality. Further, detailed study on these species may yield a better clarity on their role as vectors of bluetongue disease.