Mosquito abundance and physicochemical characteristics of their breeding water in El-Fayoum Governorate, Egypt

Objectives: This study was conducted to identify the mosquito species and the physicochemical characteristics of their breeding sites in six districts in El-Fayoum Governorate, Egypt, during October and November 2020. Methods: Using the dipping method, mosquito larvae were collected from forty-two different breeding sites, including irrigation channels, canals, agricultural puddles, sewage tanks, stagnant water puddles, and swamps. Water temperature, pH, alkalinity, nitrite, chloride, electrical conductivity (EC), and total dissolved solids (TDS) were measured for all the studied breeding sites. Results: The survey revealed the presence of nine mosquito species: Culex perexiguus (Theobald, 1901), Culex pipiens (Linnaeus, 1758), Culex antennatus (Becker, 1903), Culex theileri (Theobald, 1903), Anopheles multicolor (Cambouliu, 1902), Anopheles sergentii (Theobald, 1907), Ochlerotatus caspius (Pallas, 1771), Culiseta longiareolata (Macquart, 1838), and Uranotaenia ungiculata (Edwards, 1913), representing five genera. Out of these species, Cx. pipiens is the most abundant. Oc. caspius and Cx. antennatus revealed significant positive correlations with chloride, TDS, and EC. Cx. perexiguus only showed significant positive correlations with chloride. Conclusion: Most of the recorded mosquito species are found to be able to tolerate different degrees of pollution in their breeding water. These data may contribute to establishing a database on mosquito vectors and their habitats and, hence, assist in planning and implementing the appropriate control measures in this region