The Culex pipiens complex in Asia includes a temperate subspecies, Culex pipiens pallens, of uncertain taxonomic status. The shape of the male genitalia suggests it is a hybrid between Cx. pipiens and Cx. quinquefasciatus. We studied populations of Cx. p. pallens in Japan, Korea, and China and compared them to local populations of Cx. quinquefasciatus and Cx. p. pipiens. We examined variation i...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to design pictorial key and taxonomic literature of Culex pipiens complex in Iran. METHODS Larvae were collected using standard dipping methods in 13 randomly selected areas of Bushehr, Hamedan, Kerman, Khorasan-e-Razavi, Khuzistan, Mazandaran, Tehran, Sistan and Baluchistan and Yazd Provinces from April 2009 to October 2010. The data were analyzed using S...

The oviposition pheromone of Culex quinquefasciatus was synthesized in a racemic form in a simple (five steps), efficient, high yielding (45% total yield), and low cost way (use of relatively low cost reagents). Our synthetic racemic pheromone (SRP) was tested in the laboratory for its bioactivity on Culex pipiens biotype molestus, which is a member of the species complex that Culex quinquefasc...

The objective of the current study was to investigate the role of waste stabilization ponds (WSP) and wastewater-irrigated sites for the production of mosquitoes of medical importance. Mosquito larvae were collected fortnightly from July 2001 to June 2002 in Faisalabad, Pakistan. In total, 3,132 water samples from WSP and irrigated areas yielded 606,053 Culex larvae of five species. In addition...

The transmission cycle of western equine encephalitis (WEE) virus in South America is unknown. A WEE virus strain was isolated from Aedes albifasciatus in Argentina during the WEE epizootic of 1982-83. Also, Culex pipiens from Argentina was reported to be able to transmit WEE virus experimentally, but other results indicate that Cx. pipiens from the USA is refractory to this virus. We determine...

The influence of larval cadavers of Culex pipiens on recycling processes of Bacillus sphaericus was investigated by bioassays and spore counts in the laboratory. Studies conducted with 3 different B. sphaericus concentrations (0.005, 0.01, 0.05 mg B. sphaericus/liter) indicated that the presence of cadavers in the water contributed to the maintenance of toxic levels of B. sphaericus. Larval cad...

there are some arboviral and parasitic diseases which are transmitted by culicine mosquitoes in iran. three genera and eleven species of the subfamily culicinae (diptera: culicidae) were collected by dipping method and identified in kahnooj district, kerman province, south-eastern iran, during october and november, 2003 including; culex (culex) bitaeniorhynchus, cx. (maillotia) deserticola, cx....

Adult mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) were collected in 2007 and tested for specific viruses, including West Nile virus, as part of the ongoing arbovirus surveillance efforts in the state of Iowa. A subset of these mosquitoes (6,061 individuals in 340 pools) was further tested by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using flavivirus universal primers. Of the 211 pools of Cul...

      The chemical composition of the essential oil obtained from the aerial parts of Laurus nobilis L. has been examined by gas chromatography (GC) and GC- mass spectrometery (MS). The main components of the oil were identified. 1,8-Cineole was the major component in the oil together with b-terpinyl acetate, terpinene-4-ol, a-pinene, b-pinene, p-cymene, linalool and ...