Biting midges of Egypt (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae)

Abstract Background This study is one in a series of planned studies on different Egyptian dipteran taxa aiming to catalogue the whole order in Egypt. New information All known Egyptian taxa of the family Ceratopogonidae (biting midges) are systematically catalogued. A total number of 64 species belonging to 11 genera, four tribes and four subfamilies has been treated. Data for this study have been compiled from both available literature and specimens collected from different Egyptian localities by the authors. An updated classification, synonymies, type localities, world distributions by biogeographic realm(s) and country, Egyptian localities and dates of collection are provided comprising some new locality records. The study treats all previous inaccuracies in the classification of the family in Egypt.


Introduction
Ceratopogonidae is an extremely diverse family of small nematocerous flies (usually less than 3 mm) commonly known as biting midges, with some 130 recognised genera and almost 6,300 extant species distributed worldwide (Pape et al. 2011, Borkent 2016. The family includes also numerous fossils from the Lower Cretaceous to the Miocene, with over 280 species representing 49 genera (26 extant and 23 extinct) (Szadziewski 2018).
The females of most ceratopogonid species are blood-suckers of vertebrates, particularly along sea shores, rivers, lakes and mangrove swamps. Members of the genera Culicoides Latreille and Leptoconops Skuse are the best known to suck the blood of vertebrate animals, including humans, to get protein for egg-laying. Culicoides is the most important ever, as many species of which are implicated in the spread of pathogens and parasites to man and other animals. However, although members of the genus Leptoconops are not known to be involved in the spread of disease, they are important biting pests as their bites are painful and reactions to them last for several days in sensitive people (Linley andDavies 1971, Downes 1978). Identification of the vector and information on the major vector species are important steps in the epidemiology of vector-borne diseases. This will give a clearer indication of the geographic distribution of the disease or its potential distribution (Rawlings 1996). Some species of the genus Forcipomyia Meigen are nectarfeeders and are of great economic importance as pollinators of tropical crop plants (Downes 1978, Wilkening et al. 1985. Ceratopogonid adults can be distinguished by their wings: wing with hind margin with simple setulae, with eight or fewer longitudinal veins reaching margin, vein M usually forked, vein R straight or virtually so (arrowed) not arched and basal medial cross-vein absent (Kirk-Spriggs and Sinclair 2017). The larvae of Culicoides are slender and nematode-like, without appendages and are usually whitish with occasional thoracic pigment patterns. They are aquatic and swim with a characteristic eel-like motion. The larvae of Leptoconops are semi-aquatic. In contrast, the terrestrial larvae of Forcipomyia subgenus Lasiohelea are found in sandy soil, under rotting bark or in damp moss. The pupae are usually hidden in litter or mud, amongst floating vegetation or, in the case of Lasiohelea, under moss or rotting bark. Those of Leptoconops species found on beaches occur in the sand at or near the high-water mark (Boorman 1993).
In Egypt, biting midges constitute a major threat to the tourism industry, especially at recreational beaches and in the resort areas of Southern Sinai, the North Coast and the Red Sea shores (Ghonaim et al. 2001b). This catalogue will hopefully be a base for future studies on monitoring of Egyptian biting midges as well as increasing the knowledge of their geographic range (Rawlings 1996).

Subfamily
Tribes Genera Species Classification and arrangement of taxa. The current classification and arrangement of taxa of the family Ceratopogonidae basically follows that used in the world catalogues (Borkent 2016, Borkent andWirth 1997), in which the family is divided into four subfamilies: Leptoconopinae, Forcipomyiinae, Dasyheleinae and Ceratopogoninae. The Ceratopogoninae is the largest Egyptian subfamily, including four tribes in Egypt, namely Culicoidini, Ceratopogonini, Johannsenomyiini and Palpomyiini.
World distribution. Data on world distribution are mainly according to Remm (1988), Systema Dipterorum (http://sd.zoobank.org), Filatov and Szadziewski (2017) Local distribution (Egyptian localities) and dates of collection. The distributional data and dates of collection that are known so far in the different ecological zones of Egypt are given. Localities within each ecological zone are arranged alphabetically and written after a colon following the ecological zone, for example, "Lower Nile Valley & Delta: EI-Qanatir, EI-Mansoura, Marsafa ".

Distribution
Notes: Alwin-Kownacka et al. (2016) treated this species as a nomen dubium because it is poorly described and types most probably not preserved.
Dates of collection in Egypt: March and April.
Dates of collection in Egypt: July.
Dates of collection in Egypt: February and March. Kieffer, 1925 Nomenclature: