Late last year I had three Culicoides to my moth trap in my garden in North Essex. I contacted the Essex Diptera County Recorder (Phil Collins) who has patiently guided me, following a suggestion (by Tony Irwen) of these being C. punctatus, based on one or two less clear photographs. Phil has suggested that two are ok for C. punctatus (the top left and top right ones in the attached photo) but one looks more like C. pulcaris (the bottom one in the attached photo). This is mainly based in the latter not having a pale spot within the dark marking on the costa at M2.
Can anyone confirm or otherwise as Phil admits he is not that familiar with the Ceratopogonidae. I will add a close up of the possible C. pulcaris wing also.
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Wing of possible C…
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The bottom specimen might be…
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The bottom specimen might be pulicaris, but there is a general feeling among the ceratopogonid experts that not all specimens can be distinguished from their wing markings. This may be one of those indeterminate specimens.
Thanks, Tony. So are the two…
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Thanks, Tony. So are the two punctatus ok to record or do these also fall in this indeterminate category?
I reckon you're OK to record…
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I reckon you're OK to record the top two as punctatus.
Wing of possible C. pulicaris
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