Recovery and review of blackfly samples (Diptera: Simuliidae) from Cidacos River through Soria and La Rioja provinces (Central-Northern Spain)

Abstract

The study of simuliids from Spain is of utmost importance, not only because of the key role they play in environmental food chains both as recirculating agents of matter and as a source of food for countless organisms, but also due to the negative impact that females of blood-sucking species have on animal and human health and welfare, as well as the economic damage that they can cause to health, veterinary, agriculture and tourism sectors. Therefore, keeping delving into the knowledge of blackflies is instrumental. To this purpose, the species collected in 1997 along the Cidacos River from two Spanish provinces briefly researched have been studied. The objective of this research has been to improve the knowledge of this family in the country. As a result, 12 species of the genus Simulium have been identified, belonging to four subgenera and classified into four groups of species, of which three are first records for La Rioja and one for Soria; the altitudinal and water temperature ranges have been described for each one of the species; the sampled stations with the greatest and least diversity of species have been indicated; the different species compositions of the sampling stations with the same number of identified species have been known, which are due to the singular characteristics of each prospected habitat; the species with the highest and lowest relative abundances have been detailed; and provincial distribution maps of the four species recorded for the first time in the studied area have been provided. Likewise, the species whose females require the obligatory intake of blood to develop their life cycles have been highlighted, as well as the harm derived from each species with this type of feeding behaviour.