A growing interest in the importance of simuliids in health and animal welfare in certain areas in Europe, such as around the Mediterranean basin, together with the fact that there is fragmentary ecological information on the pre-imaginal stages of these dipterans has led to the need to carry out further research. We studied the abundance and distribution of pre-imaginal stages—mainly the pupae—of simuliid species, and examined their assemblages in relation to environmental gradients identified in Mediterranean basins of eastern Spain. We report a total of 21 black fly species from the set of studied streams, where largely the most common species were Simulium (Simulium) intermedium and Simulium (Simulium) ornatum , two species of medical and veterinary concern. We found that pre-imaginal simuliid assemblages were strongly related to elevation, water temperature and turbidity, dissolved oxygen concentration and water velocity. The analysis of the optima and tolerances for these environmental factors suggests differences in ecological requirements of the pre-imaginal stages of the reported simuliid species. Likewise, it was found that the pupae of some species were strongly associated with specific substrates. We hope that our research results on autoecology of black fly species will contribute to the improvement of pest management programs.

中文翻译：

---

西班牙东部河流中的前想象黑蝇组合：环境和基质要求

在欧洲某些地区，例如地中海盆地周围，人们对拟蜥蜴在健康和动物福利方面的重要性越来越感兴趣，再加上关于这些双翅目前想象阶段的生态信息不完整，这导致需要以进行进一步的研究。我们研究了拟虫属物种的前成虫阶段（主要是蛹）的丰度和分布，并检查了它们与在西班牙东部地中海盆地确定的环境梯度相关的组合。我们从一组研究的溪流中报告了总共 21 种黑蝇物种，其中最常见的物种主要是 Simulium (Simulium) intermedium 和 Simulium (Simulium) ornatum，这两种是医学和兽医关注的物种。我们发现前想象的simuliid组合与海拔高度相关，水温和浊度、溶解氧浓度和水流速度。对这些环境因素的优化和容忍度的分析表明，所报告的拟似物种的前想象阶段的生态要求存在差异。同样，发现某些物种的蛹与特定底物密切相关。我们希望我们在黑蝇物种自身生态学方面的研究成果将有助于改进害虫管理计划。发现某些物种的蛹与特定底物密切相关。我们希望我们在黑蝇物种自身生态学方面的研究成果将有助于改进害虫管理计划。发现某些物种的蛹与特定底物密切相关。我们希望我们在黑蝇物种自身生态学方面的研究成果将有助于改进害虫管理计划。