Diversity Of Blood-Sucking Dipteran In Urban Areas Of Northern Spain

The diversity and abundance of different blood-sucking insects was studied in the three main cities of the Basque Country region (northern Spain). Sampling took place in one green area and one cemetery from each city, where two CDC-light traps baited with CO2 were placed fortnightly from May to October 2019. Immature stages around CDC sites were also sampled periodically and reared in the laboratory until adult emergence. Fourteen species of native mosquitoes (Culicidae), seventeen biting midges (Ceratopogonidae), undetermined black fly species (Simulidae) and one sand fly (Psychodidae) species were catched. Culex pipiens s.l. and Culiseta longiareolata species were the most trapped both at urban areas and cemeteries. A few specimens of Phlebotomus mascittii and Simulium spp. were also trapped in a cemetery and in a forested green area, respectively. Based on DNA barcoding, blood-engorged mosquitoes and biting midges fed primarily on urban birds. These urban entomological studies are useful to increase the knowledge of blood-sucking Diptera composition and abundance, as well as their habitat and blood-feeding preferences, in order to assess the potential risk of vector-borne disease transmission.