A team led by the La Rioja Biomedical Research Center (CIBIR), with the participation of the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC), has identified the species of black fly for the first time Simulium mellah in Europe, specifically in the Campo de Tabernas in Almería.
As reported by the CSIC in a note, the work, published in the journal PLOS ONE and developed in a semi-desert habitat on the Iberian Peninsula, involves the discovery of at least five different species in the study area.
Black flies are a group of insects that It has more than 50 species in Spain. There are several species that can develop pests and cause problems for people and animals due to its hematogaphic activity, that is, its habit of consuming the blood of animals, birds or humans to complete its life cycle.
Besides, They are pathogen vector species that affect both animals and people worldwide.
To carry out this research, the scientists sampled black flies in various habitats (boulevards, sandy slopes, and wooded patches) and used various insect collection techniques, such as CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) traps in the environment, adhesives in nests and collection of immature stages in streams.