Confirmation of Anopheles (Anopheles) calderoni Wilkerson, 1991 (Diptera: Culicidae) in Colombia and Ecuador through molecular and morphological correlation with topotypic material

The morphologically similar taxa Anopheles calderoni, Anopheles punctimacula, Anopheles malefactor and Anopheles guarao are commonly misidentified. Isofamilies collected in Valle de Cauca, Colombia, showed morphological characters most similar to An. calderoni, a species which has never previously been reported in Colombia. Although discontinuity of the postsubcostal pale spots on the costa (C) and first radial (R1) wing veins is purportedly diagnostic for An. calderoni, the degree of overlap of the distal postsubcostal spot on C and R1 were variable in Colombian specimens (0.003-0.024). In addition, in 98.2% of larvae, seta 1-X was located off the saddle and seta 3-C had 4-7 branches in 86.7% of specimens examined. Correlation of DNA sequences of the second internal transcribed spacer and mtDNA cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI) barcodes (658 bp of the COI gene) generated from Colombian progeny material and wild-caught mosquitoes from Ecuador with those from the Peruvian type series of An. calderoni confirmed new country records. DNA barcodes generated for the closely related taxa, An. malefactor and An. punctimacula are also presented for the first time. Examination of museum specimens at the University of the Valle, Colombia, revealed the presence of An. calderoni in inland localities across Colombia and at elevations up to 1113 m

Larval Habitat Characteristics of Mosquitoes of the Genus Culex (Diptera: Culicidae) in Guilan Province, Iran

An investigation was carried out during April to December 2000 to study mosquito fauna and ecology in Guilan Prov¬ince of northern Iran. The mosquito larvae were collected by dipping method and larval habitat characteristics recorded ac¬cording to hydro-ecological features. In total, 3937 larvae of the genus Culex from 92 larval breeding sites were collected. Six spe¬cies of the genus Culex; Cx. mimeticus, Cx. pipiens, Cx. theileri, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Cx. hortensis, and Cx. terri¬tans were identified in the province and respectively comprised 10.3%, 47.2%, 2.2%, 31%, 6.5%, and 2.8% of the samples. Most of the larvae were collected from the natural habitats (75.6%) such as river edges (6.5%), riverbed pools (28.2%), rain pools (47.8%), stream edges (9.4%), grasslands (1.9%), marshes (2.8%), and hoof-prints (3.4%) and others from artificial habitats (24.4%) including rice fields (32.1%), irrigation channels (7.1%), wells (16.4%), discarded concrete tubes (33.1%), dis¬carded tires (11.0%), and agricultural water-storage pools (0.3%). The ecology of Cx. pipiens and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, which are the most prevalent species and potentially involved in the transmission of many pathogens to humans and domes¬ticated animals, must be extensively studied

Larval Habitat Characteristics of the Genus Anopheles (Diptera: Culicidae) and a Checklist of Mosquitoes in Guilan Province, Northern Iran

Background: Ecological data are important in the vector control management of mosquitoes. There is scattered pub­lished information about the larval habitat characteristics and ecology of the genus Anopheles (Diptera: Culicidae) in Iran and most of available data is in relation to malaria vectors in southern Iran. Methods: This cross sectional investigation was carried out to study the mosquito fauna and ecology in Guilan Province, northern Iran, during April–December 2000. Larvae were collected using the standard dipping technique. Larval habitat characteristics were recorded according to water situation (clear or turbid), vegetation, substrate type, sunlight situation, habitat situation (transient or permanent, running or stagnant), habitat type (natural or artificial), and water temperature. Results: In total, 1547 third- and fourth-instar larvae of Anopheles from 90 habitats were collected and morphologi­cally identified. Five species; Anopheles claviger, An.’hyrcanus’, An. maculipennis s.l., An. plumbeus, and An. su­perpictus were identified and respectively comprised 6.3%, 22.4%, 54.4%, 13.0%, and 3.9% of the samples. The mean and range temperatures of the larval habitat water were 19.6oC (n=14) (16–25oC), 22.6oC (n=53) (12–33oC), 23.8oC (n=52) (10–33oC), 11.5oC (n=12) (9–21oC), and 20.4oC (n=7) (12–26oC), respectively. There was a signifi­cant difference in the mean water temperatures (11.5–23.5oC) of the larval habitats of different species (P=0.000). Most of the genus larvae were collected from natural habitats (86.9%) such as river bed pools (46.4%) and rain pools (33.1%) with transient (98.3%), stagnant (99.5%) and clear (95.3%) water, with vegetation (69.9%), mud (42.0%) or gravel (39.7%) substrate in full sunlight (69.6%) or shaded (22.7%) area. A checklist of the province mosquitoes including 30 species and seven genera has been provided. Conclusion: The main larval habitats of the most abundant species, An.’hyrcanus’ and An. maculipennis s.l., in Guilan Province are: river bed pools, rain pools, and rice fields.  

Fauna and Checklist of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) of East Azerbaijan Province, Northwestern Iran

In order to study the mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) fauna of East Azerbaijan Province, some samplings were carried out by dipping method for the larvae and hand catch, night biting catch, total catch, and shelter pit collection as well as using window trap for the adults during June, July, and August 2004 plus July and August 2005. In total, 1305 adult mosquitoes and 603 larvae were collected. Seven genera and 15 species were identified in the prov¬ince including; Anopheles claviger, An. hyrcanus, An. maculipennis s.l., An. pseudopictus, An. sacharovi, An. superpictus, Aedes vexans, Coquillettidia richiardii, Cx. pipiens, Cx. theileri, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Culiseta longiareolata, Cs. subo¬chrea, Ochlerotatus caspius s.l., and Uranotaenia unguiculata. An. maculipennis complex, Cx. pipiens, and Cx. theileri were the most prevalent and widely dis¬tributed species. An. pseudopictus, Ae. vexans, and Cq. richiardii are reported for the first time in East Azerbaijan Province and a checklist for the mosquitoes of the province is also presented. Among the mosquitoes of the province, there are many potential vectors of human and domesticated animal pathogens that their ecology needs to be studied extensively