Suggesting synonymies? Comments on Kiehl et al. (2009) The European vectors of Bluetongue virus: are there species complexes, single species or races in Culicoides obsoletus and C. pulicaris detectable by sequencing ITS-1, ITS-2 and 18S-rDNA?

Species recognition and identification are crucial in any biological studies, especially when dealing with insect species involved in pathogen transmission. In recent years, molecular approaches have helped the clarification of systematic schemes and taxonomic status. Kiehl et al. (Parasitol Res 105:331-336, 2009) used molecular data to discuss the taxonomic status of biting midge species in the Palaearctic region. In the present work, the statements that [Thus] there is no molecular support for the existence of a separate species C. montanus and [Therefore] probably C. scoticus should be considered only as a race of C. obsoletus are discussed.