The emergence and massive transmission of bluetongue (serotype 8) in Western Europe in 2006-2008 revealed the unexpected ability of European Culicoides (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) to transmit the virus and had disastrous consequences on sheep and cattle production. Sorne aspects of Culicoides bio-ecology, especially host-seeking and feeding behaviours, remain unclear due to the difficulty to catch Culicoides directly on animal baited, the most reliable method to evaluate biting rates. Our aim was to compare reference animal-baited traps (drop trap and direct aspiration) to both gold standard surveillance method (OVI light trap) and a new sticky coyer trap in order to determine their relevance. Collections were carried out during the 3 hours surrounding sunset in Iune/Iuly 2009 in an experimental station (INRA, Nouzilly, western France), with 3 replicates of a 4 sites/4 traps randomized Latin square. Species were morphologically identified; sex and female physiological stages were recorded. Sibling species were molecularly identified. A total of 648 Culicoides belonging to 18 species were collected. Abundance and diversity were maximal with the drop trap (241 females and 4 males from 11 species) and the light trap (194 females and 8 males from 16 species) and equivalent between the direct aspiration and the sticky coyer (87 females from 6 species and 114 females from 8 species), both without male. Male catches may reflect an over estimation of the biting rate. The difference between sites illustrated the local variability in adult abundance. Trapping method comparison will help to develop appropriate protocols for a better understanding of Culicoides bio-ecology.