Turkish Journal of Zoology (2013) 37, 298-307

Omid Banafshi, Mohammad-Reza Abai, Hossein Ladonni, Hassan Bakhshi, Hadi Karami and Shahyad Azari-Hamidian (2013)
The fauna and ecology of mosquito larvae (Diptera: Culicidae) in western Iran
Turkish Journal of Zoology 37 (3), 298-307
Abstract: 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.
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Database assignments for author(s): Shahyad Azari-Hamidian

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
surveys/sampling/distribution
environment - cropping system/rotation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Anopheles superpictus		Iran
	Culex pipiens		Iran
	Culex theileri		Iran
	Anopheles maculipennis		Iran
	Anopheles claviger		Iran
	Aedes caspius		Iran
	Culiseta longiareolata		Iran
	Culex perexiguus		Iran
	Culex mimeticus		Iran
	Culex hortensis		Iran