ln 2006, bluetongue virus (BTV) outbreaks appeared surprisingly in northern Europe and widely affected most European countries. Correct identification of Culicoides species, is a key component of BTV vector studies. BTV epidemiology in Europe remains complicated in particular with the sympatric distribution of two sibling species, C. obsoletus and C. scoticus, which are suspected to be BTV vectors and may differ in their vector competence. ;,Our objectives were to develop new morphological and molecular identification tools for Culicoides. A cornputer-based system Xper2 was used to develop an Interactive Identification Key (IIKC) for female Culicoides from the West Palearctic region on morphological characters. Based on molecular data, 'a quantitative PCR assay has been designed to estimate the abundance of C. obsoletus and C. scoticus in samples. The current version ofIIKC includes 108taxa, 61 descriptors and 837 pictures and schemes. IIKC is a powerful tool to routinely identify Culicoides species and to train young specialized taxonomists. Specificity and sensitivity of the qPCR assay have been evaluated with 54 species and 9 samples of mixed C. obsoletusl scoticus specimens (0/100, 1/99, 5/95, 25/75, 50/50, 75/25, 95/5, 99/1 and 100/0). The development of new identification tools for arthropod vectors will help seientists in differentiating species and therefore give better insights into distribution, bionomics and vector control of these species.