The principal aim of DNA barcoding is to assign
unidentified specimens to known species, using sequence
similarity (Hebert et al. 2003). Thus, barcoding requires a
solid taxonomic background to use as a reference. Black
flies in Thailand meet this requirement given that they
are among the most thoroughly studied groups of Diptera
(Papp et al. 2006). Thus far, 88 species are known in
Thailand (H. Takaoka & W. Choochote 2004; unpublished
data), all in the following six subgenera of the
genus Simulium Latreille: Asiosimulium Takaoka and Choochote,
Daviesellum Takaoka and Adler