Fauna and Larval Habitat Characteristics of Mosquitoes in Neka County, Northern Iran

BACKGROUND Ecological studies on mosquitoes are very important in vector control programs. There are a few studies about the ecology of mosquitoes in northern Iran. This study was carried out to detect fauna and larval habitat characteristics of mosquitoes. METHODS This study aimed to determine fauna and the ecology of mosquitoes in Neka County, Mazandaran Province, northern Iran from April to December, 2009. The larval collection was conducted using standard dipper, and the characteristics of larval habitat were investigated based on degree of transparency of water, type of water (stagnant or running), plant vegetation, sunny or shady, temperature and altitude of the natural or artificial breeding places. RESULTS The mosquito larvae were collected from 72 habitats and identified using systematic keys. Nine species of mosquitoes were identified: Anopheles claviger (0.31%), An. maculipennis (0.54%), An. plumbeus (10.28%), An. superpictus (0.01%), Culiseta annulata (1.07%), Cs. longiareolata (8.91%), Culex mimeticus (0.03%), Cx. pipiens (63.99%), and Ochlerotatus geniculatus (14.85%). The range of temperature in the larval habitats was 19.6-22.5 °C. Significant difference was observed in the rate of temperature among the species in the larval habitats (P< 0.05). A checklist of mosquitoes including seven genera and 32 species has been provided for Mazandaran Province. CONCLUSION The most dominant species were Cx. pipiens. They were collected from the larval habitats like Border Rivers, ponds, rain water pools, discarded tires and tree holes. Culiseta annulata was included to the checklist of mosquitoes in Mazandaran Province.