Dasyhelea mutabilis (Coquillett)

William L. Grogan, Jr., Hribar, Lawrence J., Murphree, C. Steven & Cilek, James E., 2010, New records of biting and predaceous midges from Florida, including species new to the fauna of the United States (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), Insecta Mundi 2010 (147), pp. 1-59 : 23

Dasyhelea mutabilis (Coquillett)

Ceratopogon mutabilis Coquillett, 1901: 602 (Washington, D.C.). Culicoides mutabilis: Kieffer 1906: 54 (combination). Pseudoculicoides mutabilis: Malloch 1915a: 310 (combination). Dasyhelea mutabilis: Thomsen 1935: 283 (combination); Waugh and Wirth 1976: 242 (revision of eastern

U.S. Dasyhelea ; distribution); Wilkening et al. 1985: 519 (Florida records); Borkent and Grogan

2009: 11 (in Nearctic catalog; distribution).

Discussion. Wilkening et al. (1985) listed this species from Alachua, Duval, Levy and Monroe counties, and Hribar and Grogan (2005) provided additional Monroe Co. records from Long Key. We have tentatively identified a female from St. Lucie Co. that is slightly smaller (wing length 0.66 mm) than reported by Waugh and Wirth (1976) for females of this species (wing length 0.72-0.83 mm). Waugh and Wirth suggested that at least two species may inhabit the eastern United States based on variation of spermatheca size and neck length as well as the pupal respiratory organ. Regardless, this is the first record of this species from St. Lucie Co.

New records. St. Lucie Co., 20-VIII-1986, R. L. Escher, 1 female (WLGC).