Culicoides hoffmani Fox, 1946

Spinelli, Gustavo R., Ronderos, Maria M. & Díaz, Florentina, 2021, Two new species and new records of Neotropical Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Zootaxa 4915 (3), pp. 401-410 : 406-409

Culicoides hoffmani Fox

( Figs. 19–24 )

Culicoides hoffmani Fox, 1946: 251 (female; Trinidad); Fox 1949: 29 (male, female; Puerto Rico); Wirth & Blanton 1956: 189 (male, female; Trinidad, Puerto Rico, St. Croix); Wirth & Blanton 1959: 436 (male, female; Panama; distribution); Wirth 1974: 32 (in catalog species south of USA); Vitale et al. 1981: 149 (wrong location in key of the debilipalpis group); Wirth et al. 1988: 48 (in Atlas species south of USA); Borkent & Wirth 1997: 70 (in World catalog); Borkent & Spinelli 2000: 32 (in catalog of species south of USA); Borkent & Spinelli 2007: 67 (in Neotropical catalog); Borkent & Dominiak 2020: 113 (in World catalog).

Diagnosis. The only Neotropical species of the subgenus C. (Haematomyidium) with the following combination of characters: females with flagellomeres 4–12 subequal in length; sensilla coeloconica on flagellomeres 1, 6–8; palpal segment 3 swollen, with moderately large and deep sensory pit; poststigmatic pale spots in r 3 separated; cell m 1 with two pale spots, distal one well separated from wing margin; cell m 2 with pale spot posterior to medial fork and with an elongate pale spot anterior to cubital fork; macrotrichia sparse on distal third of cells r 3 and m 1. Male paramere stem very slender, with no trace of ventral lobe and apex pointed with lateral fringe of fine hairs; distal portion of aedeagus broadly expanded, with three pointed lobes of subequal lengths.

Specimen examined.“ Argentina, Córdoba, 4 km NW Cura Brochero , 31°38’16.68”S, 65°02’10.15”W, 17-29- II-2004, H. López, 1 female, at light” ( MLPA) .

Main numerical characters of the specimen examined:AR: 0.83; PR: 2.00; P/H ratio not measured; wing length: 0.90 mm; width: 0.45 mm; CR: 0.55; larger spermatheca: 67 by 50 μm, neck 12 μm; smaller spermatheca: 52 by 45 μm, neck 7 μm.

Distribution. Belize, Costa Rica, Cayman Islands, Jamaica to Trinidad, Argentina (Córdoba).

Remarks. The cell m 2 with an elongate pale spot anterior to the cubital fork, and the absence of macrotrichia on cells m 2, cua 1 and anal cell are clearly shown in the wing illustration that accompanies the original description of C. hoffmani by Fox (1946, page 253, Fig. 9 ). Moreover, the authors specifically stated “...with macrotrichia in the apical region”. The wing photograph included in the Wing Atlas of the Neotropical species by Wirth et al. (1988) coincides with the illustration in the original description.

It is worth remarking that Wirth & Blanton (1956) incorrectly provided wing illustrations showing the absence of a pale spot anterior to the cubital fork in cell m 2, and the macrotrichia extending in two rows to base of cell m 2. This wrong wing illustration was also included in the revision of the genus from Panama ( Wirth & Blanton 1959), but in the key C. hoffmani correctly keys out in couplet 76, where species that have a pale spot in cell m 2 anterior to the cubital fork are located. On the other hand, in the key of the debilipalpis species group by Vitale et al. (1981), C. hoffmani is incorrectly located in couplet 24 within the species that lack the mentioned pale spot.

Because of these misunderstandings about the proper features of the wing of C. hoffmani , it is indispensable to consult the original description. In this sense, the specimen examined herein perfectly agrees with the specimens described and illustrated by Fox (1946).

Figures

FIGURES 19–24. Culicoides hoffmani Fox, 1946. Female, 19–24. 19 head. 20 palpus. 21 legs. 22 wing. 23 abdomen. 24 detail of spermathecae. Scale bars = 0.05 mm..

FIGURES 7–12. Culicoides dellapei n. sp. Holotype female, 7–12. 7 head. 8 palpus. 9 legs. 10 wing. 11 abdomen. 12 detail of spermathecae. Scale bars = 0.05 mm.