Omid BANAFSHI, Mohammad-reza ABAI, Hossein LADONNI, Hassan BAKHSHI

The fauna and ecology of mosquito larvae (Diptera: Culicidae) in western Iran

Ecological data are important in integrated vector management. There are few published documents about the ecology of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in western Iran. To study the fauna and ecology of the mosquito larvae of Kurdistan Province, the samples were collected by the dipping method during June-October 2005 and June-August 2006. Larval habitat characteristics were recorded according to habitat type, water conditions (stagnant or running, clear or turbid), water temperature, vegetation (with or without vegetation), and sunlight exposure (full or partial sunlight or shaded). A total of 2096 third- and fourth-instar larvae were collected. Four genera and 11 species were identified: Anopheles claviger (1%), An. maculipennis sensu lato (s.l.) (17.4%), An. superpictus (57.7%), Culex hortensis (1.5%), Cx. mimeticus (2.7%), Cx. perexiguus (0.2%), Cx. pipiens (0.8%), Cx. theileri (12.2%), Culiseta longiareolata (6.1%), Cs. subochrea (0.3%), and Ochlerotatus caspius s.l. (0.1%). Anopheles superpictus, An. maculipennis s.l., and Cx. theileri were the most abundant and widely distributed species. All larvae were collected from natural habitats (river edges or ground pools). There was no significant difference among the mean water temperatures (17.7-26 °C) of the habitats of different species (P = 0.098). The larval habitat characteristics, association occasions, and percentages of each species are discussed.

Anahtar Kelimeler:

Key words: Anopheles, Culex, Culiseta, Ochlerotatus, Culicidae, mosquito, larval habitat, Kurdistan Province, Iran

The fauna and ecology of mosquito larvae (Diptera: Culicidae) in western Iran

Keywords:

Key words: Anopheles, Culex, Culiseta, Ochlerotatus, Culicidae, mosquito, larval habitat, Kurdistan Province, Iran,

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The authors are grateful to the staff of the Department of Disease Control, Deputy of Health, Kurdistan University of Medical Sciences, for their collaboration in the field. The authors also thank Dr SM Omrani, Department of Medical Parasitology, School of Medicine, Shahrekord University of Medical Sciences, for reviewing the manuscript. This study was financially supported by the Institute of Public Health Research, Academic Pivot for Education and Research, Tehran University of Medical Sciences: Project No. 283.77.