Emergence Trap Studies on Biting Midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in Terrestrial Habitats in Southern Lower Saxony (Germany)

Abstract

Adult Ceratopogonidae were sampled using emergence traps in four terrestrial habitats (1986–1989). The number of species (S) was low in the mesoxerophytic meadow (S = 8) and the hedgerow (S = 2), compared to the alder/willow forest (S = 12) and the oak/hornbeam forest (S = 14) studied. Annual emergence abundance of adults was usually higher in the two forest habitats (33 to 194.0 ind./m2/y) compared to the meadow (0.5 to 40.7 ind./m2/y) and the hedgerow (3.3 to 15.1 ind./m2/y). The two forest habitats were fairly similar with respect to species composition but differed in dominant species. Emergence of most species peaked in spring (April/May) and/or in summer (July/August) but Serromyia species emerged mainly in June.

Field studies on breeding sites of Culicoides Latreille (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in agriculturally used and natural habitats

“…Acidic grasslands in considerable distance to bogs/swamps 33 and leaf litter compost 5 , 35 could not be confirmed in the present study, although the MA and AFS were of a comparable character. While Uslu and Dik 17 could not find any C. obsoletus s.s. in wet organic matter-rich soil, we collected most specimens of this species in the AFS and can therefore confirm previous findings 11 , 29 , 32 , 39 . The time of C. obsoletus s.s. activity in Germany (April–October) as described by Havelka 32 agrees with our observations.…”

“…The aggregation of larvae in terrestrial habitats 29 typically results in a high number of samples completely devoid of midges and an overall low number of specimens sampled by emergence traps 30 . Thus, the obtained low numbers of collected specimens are not surprising.…”

“…Thus, the obtained low numbers of collected specimens are not surprising. Nevertheless, emergence traps are still considered to be the best tool for the investigation of breeding site productivity, as it offers a safe assignment of species to their specific developmental sites 24 , 29 , 31 .…”

A six-year study of insect emergence from temporary flooded wetlands in central Sweden, with and without Bti-based mosquito control

“…These can be monitored by other methods, such as activity traps (Persson Vinnersten et al , 2009). In spite of this, the use of emergence traps is a reliable and practical method for monitoring emerging insects from both aquatic and terrestrial habitats (Hövemeyer & Havelka, 1996; Whiles & Goldowitz, 2001; Lundström et al , 2009a,b).…”