Culicoides imicola

Culicoides imicola

Culicoides imicola is a mosquito of the family of midges.

It has a weight of only 1/1700 grams and is mainly from March to October, especially in the morning and evening hours active. This information is valid at least for the temperate zones of the northern hemisphere. In the tropics and subtropics, it is like all Culicoides nocturnal. The altitude of the Culicoides imicola is not more than about 3 m.

Only the females suck blood.

These insects multiply in moist places, such as on peat soils and tree barks.

Occurrence

Well originally native to the tropical and subtropical zones of Africa and Asia, this mosquito has spread in the course of global warming by strong winds and as a stowaway in aircraft worldwide also to temperate zones.

Culicoides imicola as disease carriers

The Culicoides imicola is now known in many parts of the world along with other blood-sucking insects as a carrier (vector ) of two different viruses and the diseases provoked by them:

This blood-sucking insect takes circulating in the blood of an infected animal virus on during the act of sucking. By biological replication cycle of the virus in the insect, in which the virus enters into the salivary gland, it transmits it in the next food intake to another may not yet infected animal.