Topsoil conditions correlate with the emergence rates of Culicoides chiopterus and Culicoides dewulfi (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) from cowpats.

Culicoides chiopterus (Meigen), 1830 and Culicoides dewulfi Goetghebuer, 1936 (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) are considered to develop exclusively in dung, but do not necessarily show an equal distribution and abundance on livestock farms in Northern Europe. Recent modelling studies identified soil parameters to explain these differences. The present study addressed the question whether topsoil conditions underneath cowpats correlate with the number of emerging C.