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Vertebrate-host-seeking Culicoides melleus and C. hollensis were captured from 0930 to 2030 h in salt marshes and woodlands, dissected to determine stage of follicle development and panty, and were analyzed by an anthrone test for nectar sugars. Of the total 1,783 midges examined, 99.3% had completed the first gonotrophic cycle More than 65% of 1,022 C. melleus and 61% of 743 C. hollensis had stage I follicles. The remainder had stages I-II or stage II terminal follicles. The predominance of parous midges suggests autogeny in the first ovarian cycle. Anthrone tests detected fructose or sucrose in 66% of 1,078 C. melleus and in 64% of 773 C. hollensis ; sugar positivity approached or exceeded 50% for each species regardless of diel period or sampling site. Although definitive diurnal patterns of sugar presence were indiscernible, it is believed that these carbohydrates are important dietary supplements and are probably the chief energy sources for flight and maintenance activities.
Louis A. Magnarelli (Thu,) studied this question.