| Hematophagous flies are important pests of vertebrates, inflicting bites that cause stress and spread disease agents. Despite the economic importance of these flies, many questions remain about their ecology, life history, and vectorial capacity. A primary goal of my research was to map the vertical distribution of blood-feeding flies in forests of South Carolina, which then could be used to improve vector surveillance and predict potential hosts of these flies. Carbon dioxide-baited CDC traps, placed at 1.5, 5.0, and 10.0 m above ground in two South Carolina forests, yielded 6,658 hematophagous flies, from August to October 2006 and March to September 2007. Fifty-four species in four families were collected. The vertical distribution of hematophagous flies was nonrandom, with the mean number of flies differing significantly among heights for all seven species analyzed.;A second goal was to determine if proportions of the mosquito Culex erraticus (Dyar and Knab) infected with hematozoa differed significantly with height. Mosquitoes were screened using a nested polymerase chain reaction and primers specific for Plasmodium and Haemoproteus. Between 60 and 90% of Culex erraticus tested were positive for Haemoproteus. No significant differences were found among proportions of infected Culex erraticus collected at 1.5, 5.0, or 10.0 m. Sequences of positive results yielded six mitochondrial lineages, with 85-100% similarity to European Haemoproteus lineages. |
