First Record of Culicoides occidentalis in Sinaloa, Mexico

Abstract

Culicoides species adults were collected in light traps located on the coast of Elota, Sinaloa, Mexico, in February 2022. All specimens were females, and it was determined based on their morphology that they belonged to the Culicoides variipennis complex. The identification of the species was carried out by means of a comparative analysis of genetic sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, which resulted in C. occidentalis, this being its first report in Sinaloa and its third nationwide.