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 study was conducted in a park of Buenos Aires City, where a total of 89 rain pools were sampled weekly for mosquito immature stages over a one-year period. The aim of the present paper was to investigate the seasonal dynamics of three Culex species breeding in temporary rain pools and to analyze the relationships of the presence of these species to pool dimensions, pool age, vegetation, and...

AbstractIn late 2014, Zika virus (ZIKV; Flaviviridae, Flavivirus) emerged as a significant arboviral disease threat in the Western hemisphere. Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus have been considered the principal vectors of ZIKV in the New World due to viral isolation frequency and vector competence assessments. Limited reports of Culex transmission potential have highlighted the need for addit...

A new species from Southern Brazil, named Culex (Melanoconion) ribeirensis is described. The description includes adults, pupal and larval stages, illustrating the morphological aspects and a picture of a breeding place. Some data about known distribution and bionomics are presented. UNITERMS: Culex (Melanoconion) ribeirensis. Culex. Insect vectors.

The medically important members of the Culex pipiens species complex provide an enigma for systematists, evolutionary biologists, and vector biologists. The species complex is composed of forms that differ in their ecology, behaviour, physiology and vector competence. Cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI) caused by endosymbiotic Wolbachia bacteria is thought to play an important role in restricting ...

Japanese encephalitis is a disease of major importance in Asia, which from 1995 has extended its range into the north of Australia. Culex annulirostris Skuse of the Culex sitiens subgroup of Culex was incriminated as the most likely mosquito vector. Because misidentifications previously have occurred within this subgroup, our paper defines electrophoretic methods to identify Culex specimens fro...

Field studies were conducted to determine the mosquito species richness in the urban area of Greater Puntarenas in Costa Rica. Two cross-sectional entomological surveys were performed in seven localities of Puntarenas: one survey was performed during the wet season and the other during the dry season. The sections evaluated were determined by applying a stratified cluster sampling method using ...

West Nile virus ecology has yet to be rigorously investigated in the Caribbean Basin. We identified a transmission focus in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, and established systematic monitoring of avian abundance and infection, seroconversions in domestic poultry, and viral infections in mosquitoes. West Nile virus transmission was detected annually between May and October from 2005 to 2008. High te...

The Cry48Aa/Cry49Aa binary toxin of Bacillus sphaericus was recently discovered by its ability to kill Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito larvae through a novel interaction between its two components. We have investigated the target specificity of this toxin and show it to be non-toxic to coleopteran, lepidopteran and other dipteran insects, including closely related Aedes and Anopheles mosquitoes...

A standardized larval dipping method was used to determine the infestation rates of Culex and other species of mosquitoes in stagnant water at 20 residential areas. This study also examined the associations between Culex distribution and various habitat characteristics across all states in Malaysia. Identification of 7,848 specimens yielded 6 species dominated by Culex quinquefasciatus (82.74%)...