Field Evaluation of Light-Emitting Diode as Attractant for Blood-Sucking Midges of the Genus<i>Culicoides</i>Latreille (Diptera: Culicomorpha, Ceratopogonidae) in the Brazilian Savanna

Abstract

The role of the light-emitting diode (LED) modified light traps in the attraction of biting midges was evaluated in Northeastern Maranhão, Brazil. The modified traps held a 5 mm high-brightness LED bulb, one in the green (520 nm) and other in the blue (470 nm) region of the visible spectrum. The incandescent bulb was used as control. From a total of 2,764 specimens, the most frequent species were Culicoides lutzi Costa Lima (58.54%), C. paucienfuscatus Barbosa (27.30%), C. duartei Tavares and Luna Dias (4.74%) and C. insignis Lutz (4.63%). The green light source accounted for 53.87% of the sampled individuals, followed by incandescent (34.95%) and blue lights (11.18%), but these differences were not statistically significant. The differences found among the species' responses demonstrate that variances in species-specific LED attractiveness exist and the results must be individually evaluated. Even without statistical differences, it is suggested to use LEDs as an alternative for the Culicoides collections because of important advantages compared to incandescent lamps.