23 species of blood-sucking flies recorded in Andaman & Nicobar Islands

Newly recorded blood-sucking flies from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
| Picture Credit score: Particular Association

Researchers from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have recognized 23 species of blood-sucking flies, 13 of them recorded for the primary time within the nation, within the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

These tiny bugs, additionally known as midges, are related in look to flies however are extra carefully associated to mosquitoes of their feeding habits. Belonging to the Culicoides genus, they’re domestically known as bhusi information.

The findings have been revealed within the newest subject of the worldwide journal Parasites and Vectors, marking the primary complete survey of those bugs within the archipelago. The authors of the examine are Koustav Mukherjee, Surajit Kar, Atanu Naskar, Chandrakasan Sivaperuman, and ZSI Director Dhriti Banerjee.

Based on the examine, these flies feed on the blood of livestock comparable to sheep, goats, and cattle, in addition to wild animals like deer. Of explicit concern are 5 species recognized to transmit the bluetongue illness virus, a situation that may be deadly to livestock.

Bluetongue illness manifests by signs together with blue discolouration of the tongue, fever, facial swelling, and extreme salivation. It will possibly probably result in dying in affected animals and poses a major risk to livestock farming and the agricultural economic system.

“The presence of a number of Culicoides species, significantly these liable for the bluetongue virus transmission, necessitates common surveillance and applicable management measures within the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. That is particularly essential given the area’s significance as a significant vacationer vacation spot,” Dr Banerjee stated.

The examine, performed in 2022 and 2023, revealed that 17 of the 23 species recognized are recognized to chunk people, though no human illness transmission has been reported. “A scientific survey of the whole archipelago is required to grasp the position of those bugs in illness transmission,” stated Dr Naskar, the officer in command of ZSI’s Diptera part.

The researchers didn’t rule out the opportunity of recording extra Culicoides species as many areas within the archipelago stay unexplored. “Other than persevering with our survey, we’re conducting inhabitants and genetic research of those flies,” Mr Mukherjee, a senior analysis fellow stated.

A complete of three,529 grownup Culicoides have been trapped in the course of the survey, representing 5 subgenera and three unplaced species teams. The 13 new species recorded for India are C. barnetti, C. gouldi, C. flaviscutellaris, C. flavipunctatus, C. hui, C. histrio, C. guttifer, C. perornatus, C. okinawensis, C. quatei, C. obscurus, C. coronalis, and C. kusaiensis.

The Indian Culicoides fauna now consists of 93 legitimate species, lots of that are recognised as confirmed or potential vectors of essential pathogens of animal well being.

Culicoides, a big genus of the household Ceratopogonidae with cosmopolitan distribution excluding New Zealand and Antarctica, consists of species which can be among the many smallest haematophagous members of the order Diptera.

The midges of this household are gaining important consideration resulting from their position as vectors of just about 60 viruses, 40 protozoans, and 24 filarial nematodes, impacting not solely livestock and wildlife but in addition people.