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Simulium teruamanga

Rarotonga Blackfly

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General Information

COMMON NAMES: Rarotonga Blackfly

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE Cooks (Rarotonga)

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native, Endemic of Cooks, 1 island; S.Group only (RR only - common); Land, inland valleys (adults), young in Freshwater; larvae on stones (above and below), trailing roots and trapped leaf-packs

KEY FEATURES: Minute fly to 2mm BL. ADULTS brownish-black, 1.5-2mm BL. LARVA 4.4mm BL last instar, pale grey with cream joints. PUPA 2-2.5mm body; gills 5-6 filaments, to 4.5mm.

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea: -
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+++	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Northern Group: -
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW
-	-	-	-	-	-

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Simulium teruamanga Craig & Craig, 1986
SYNONYMS: Simulium (Inseliellum) teruamanga

TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; ARTHROPODA; ATELOCERATA; HEXAPODA; INSECTA; PTERYGOTA; Diptera; SIMULIIDAE

More Information

GENERAL NOTE: Simulids or Blackflies are often pests because they bite people and animals, and sometimes transmit diseases. The two blackflies in the Cook Islands are very rare, are not likely to suck blood, and are not known to bite people. In contrast in New Zealand Austrosimilium australense is a biter of people and Austrosimulium ungulatum is a mass biter of people. The biting No-see-'em of Aitutaki is NOT a Blackfly - it is a Biting Midge.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: holotype specimen, lfemale adult reared from larva, D.&R.Craig, 7/1980, 120m elevation, Avana Stream, specimen in Entomology Collection, MT Albert, Auckland; other specimens in Auckland collection from Pichon (1974), Dugdale (1975) and the Craigs (1980) from Avatiu, Takuvaine, Tupapa, Matavera, Turangi, Avana, Totokoitu, Papua, and Muriavai - typically from around 30m to 100m elevation.

References:
Special Reference: Craig, D.A. and R.E.G.Craig (1986) Simuliidae (Diptera: Culicomorpha) of Rarotonga, Cook Islands South Pacific. NZ J. Zoology 13:357-366.

Data Update History (information):
zB02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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