Culicoides
- proper noun
- Specialized
- A sixteenth-inch-long female biting midge, Culicoides sonorensis, feeds on blood delivered through an artificial membrane developed for mass insect rearing.
- Culicoides midges
- Culicoides sonorensis
Examples
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PHOTO (BLACK & WHITE): Blood-feeding midge, Culicoides sonorensis, the vector of Oropouche and other viruses.
Academic text (2005) -
The Culicoides midge is known for transmitting diseases such as bluetongue in livestock.
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Farmers often struggle with Culicoides infestations, as these biting flies can harm their animals.
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Researchers study Culicoides flies to understand how they spread various animal diseases.
Synonyms
A very small flying insect often found near water that sometimes bites
A very small flying insect that bites animals and people
Surface Forms
Etymology
Culicoides comes from the old root culic- meaning 'mosquito' and the ending -oides meaning 'like' or 'in the shape of', so it means 'mosquito-like'. That's why Culicoides is the name for very small biting midges that look and bite like tiny mosquitoes.