Biting midges reared from larval habitats containing Culicoides variipennis (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) in New England.

Comments.-This is a common widespread Nearctic species which has been reared by B. Brookman from Poso Creek and Bakersfield, Kern County, California (Wirth 1952), by R. Jones from the sandy margin of a stream in Rusk County, Wisconsin, and by H. Jamnback and W. Wirth from salt marshes on Long Island, New York (Waugh and Wirth 1976).This is apparently the first record of this species being reared in association with C. variipennis.Since larvae of Dasyhela do not actively swim like those of Culicoides, but crawl slowly on or in their substrate (Mullen and Hribar 1988), they may not have been in direct competition with the larvae of C. variipennis.Furthermore, the larvae of C. variipennis are often found on the surface of the mud, particularly when feeding at night (Vaughan and Turner, 1989).However, Hribar andMullen (1991) reported that larvae of Dasyhelea sp.collected from algae, rotting vegetation and treeholes and C. variipennis collected from soil near horse and cow manure and sewage lagoons in Alabama both contained diatoms, fungal hyphae and oligochaete setae in their guts.