Midges : New Species Identified
Researchers from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have identified 23 species of blood-sucking flies (Midges), 13 of them recorded for the first time in the country, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.Midges are tiny insects which are similar in appearance to flies but are more closely related to mosquitoes in their feeding habits. They belong to the Culicoides genus and are locally called bhusi files. The 13 new species recorded for India are C. barnetti, C. gouldi, C. flaviscutellaris, C. flavipunctatus, C. hui, C. histrio, C. guttifer, C. perornatus, C. okinawensis, C. quatei, C. obscurus, C. coronalis, and C. kusaiensis.
