An effective method for the identification and separation of Anopheles minimus, the primary malaria vector in Thailand, and its sister species Anopheles harrisoni, with a comparison of their mating behaviors

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A new species of Simulium (Gomphostilbia) (Diptera, Simuliidae) from Thailand, with a key to identify females of 14 species of the Simulium varicorne species-group

Simulium (Gomphostilbia) khelangense sp. nov. is described on the basis of females, collected by a sweeping net in Lampang, Phitsanulok and Chiang Mai Provinces, Thailand. This new species is placed in the S. chumpornense subgroup of the S. varicorne species-group in the subgenus Gomphostilbia Enderlein by having the antenna with eight flagellomeres, pleural membrane bare, and female subcosta lacking hairs. It is similar to S. kuvangkadilokae Pramual & Tangkawanit from Thailand in the same subgroup but is barely distinguished from the latter species by the head width relative to the greatest width of the frons and length of the labrum relative to the clypeus. A genetic analysis using the COI gene sequences similarly shows that S. khelangense sp. nov. is most closely related to S. kuvangkadilokae, with a genetic distance of 1.23–2.81%. A revised key to identify females of 14 species of the S. varicorne species-group is provided

Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) Diversity and Community Structure in Doi Inthanon National Park, Northern Thailand

Urbanization and human activities create new suitable aquatic habitats for the immature stages of mosquitoes in many countries. This also applies to Doi Inthanon National Park in northern Thailand, which is named for the highest mountain in the country. Despite its popularity, there is no information regarding mosquito diversity and community structure in the different ecosystems of the park. Monthly collections of immature stages from various habitats were conducted from August 2004 to December 2005 using dipping and sucking methods. The specimens collected from each habitat were reared to adults and identified based on their morphology. Diversity parameters and community structure were statistically analyzed. A total of 140 species (3795 specimens) belonging to 15 genera were identified. Among these, four genera (Culex, Aedes, Anopheles, and Uranotaenia) had high species richness, each represented by 48, 27, 19, and 15 species, respectively. Aedes albopictus was the most relatively abundant species, representing 6.7% of the total number of captured specimens, followed by Tripteroides aranoides (5.6%) and Cx. mimulus (5%). Species richness in natural habitats was significantly higher than in artificial containers. Species richness and abundance were highest in the rainy season. In comparison to agricultural areas and villages, mosquito diversity was found to be higher in forest areas. Ground pools, stream pools, rock pools, bamboo stumps, bamboo internode, and rice fields were the most preferred natural habitats. The results indicate that Doi Inthanon National Park has a high mosquito diversity. Each species exhibits differences in abundance and distribution in different habitats, which is useful information for planning conservation measures and vector control in the park

Boxplot of alpha diversity indices.

Observed species; the number of species directly observed; the higher the index, the more species detected, ACE and Chao1; the indices estimate the species richness in sample groups, Faith’s PD; a phylogenetic diversity index, Shannon and Simpson; the indices reflect the ASVs diversity within and among sample pools. Kruskal-Wallis-Pairwise were used to detect statistically significant differences between mosquito species (*indicates p value < 0.05).</p

Composition of bacterial communities of four <i>Anopheles</i> species/group.

The top ten taxa in terms of relative abundance at phylum level (A) and family level (B).</p

List of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) indicates unique and shared ASVs among the four <i>Anopheles</i> species/group.

List of amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) indicates unique and shared ASVs among the four Anopheles species/group.</p

Results of the processed sequencing data.

Bacterial content of mosquitoes has given rise to the development of innovative tools that influence and seek to control malaria transmission. This study identified the bacterial microbiota in field-collected female adults of the Anopheles hyrcanus group and three Anopheles species, Anopheles nivipes, Anopheles philippinensis, and Anopheles vagus, from an endemic area in the southeastern part of Ubon Ratchathani Province, northeastern Thailand, near the Lao PDR-Cambodia-Thailand border. A total of 17 DNA libraries were generated from pooled female Anopheles abdomen samples (10 abdomens/ sample). The mosquito microbiota was characterized through the analysis of DNA sequences from the V3−V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene, and data were analyzed in QIIME2. A total of 3,442 bacterial ASVs were obtained, revealing differences in the microbiota both within the same species/group and between different species/group. Statistical difference in alpha diversity was observed between An. hyrcanus group and An. vagus and between An. nivipes and An. vagus, and beta diversity analyses showed that the bacterial community of An. vagus was the most dissimilar from other species. The most abundant bacteria belonged to the Proteobacteria phylum (48%-75%) in which Pseudomonas, Serratia, and Pantoea were predominant genera among four Anopheles species/group. However, the most significantly abundant genus observed in each Anopheles species/group was as follows: Staphylococcus in the An. hyrcanus group, Pantoea in the An. nivipes, Rosenbergiella in An. philippinensis, and Pseudomonas in An. vagus. Particularly, Pseudomonas sp. was highly abundant in all Anopheles species except An. nivipes. The present study provides the first study on the microbiota of four potential malaria vectors as a starting step towards understanding the role of the microbiota on mosquito biology and ultimately the development of potential tools for malaria control.</div

Venn diagram plot indicates unique and shared amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) among the four <i>Anopheles</i> species/group.

Each ellipse represents one group. Values represent the number of ASVs in each overlapping or unique segment.</p