Association between land cover and Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) breeding sites on four Danish cattle farms

Publication type: 

Authors: 

Carsten Kirkeby, René Bødker, Anders Stockmarr & Claes Enøe

Bibliography Partner: 

Journal: 

Status: 

Year: 

2009

Reference: 

Kirkeby, C., Bødker, R., Stockmarr, A. & Enøe, C. 2009: Association between land cover and Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) breeding sites on four Danish cattlefarms. - Entomol. Fennica 20: 228-232.

Host: 

Pathogen: 

Data description: 

Investigation into the association between land cover and Culicoides using corine

Keywords: 

Culicoides, Land cover, corine, bluetongue, denmark

Abstract: 

Biting midges of the genus Culicoides are vectors of bluetongue virus. Their lar-val habitats are poorly known in Northern Europe. Three classes of the CORINE land cover index, found within 300 m of four farms in Denmark, were used to stratify sampling sites for a total of 360 soil core samples from 30 sampling points. Soil samples were set up in emergence chambers for hatching adult Culicoides. Two species of Culicoides (C. punctatus and C. pulicaris) emergedfrom nine of 12 soil samples from a wet, grazed field with manure. Seventy-two other samples from similar land cover on the three other farms were negative. Seven sampling points from pastures were incorrectly classified by CORINE. The remaining 23 sampling points were classified correctly. The visually ob-served land use was not sufficiently detailed to adequately predict Culicoides breeding sites in this study. The CORINE index failed to identify pastures in which Culicoides  breeding sites were found.