Results of Ten Years of Mosquito (diptera: Culicidae) Monitoring in Osijek, Croatia

The monitoring of the mosquito population for the purpose of possible better mosquito control took place in Osijek from 1995-2004. For the period of ten years, the primary research method for monitoring the mosquitoes used was dry ice baited CDC-traps. This provided significant information on mosquito species, their dynamics and seasonal activity. In total, 207,136 mosquito specimens were collected. Among this number 20 species were identified, however, 7 species made up 99% of the total. From these 7, three ecological groups based on breeding sites were determined: flood water mosquitoes, container breeding mosquitoes, and permanent and semi-permanent water breeding mosquitoes. The seasonal dynamics of these three groups are shown in this paper. The average dynamics of all mosquito species was reflected in three peaks: at the end of May, in the middle of July (the biggest) and in the middle of September. The eudominant species was Aedes vexans which comprised 76 % of the total mosquito fauna in the investigated area. The flood water species highly correlated with the average dynamics of all the species in the area of Osijek as well as with the average water level of the Danube River. Mosquitoes, seasonal dynamics, water level, Aedes vexans, monitoring, CDC-trap