Haemosporidians, a group of vector-borne parasites that include Plasmodium, infect vertebrates including birds. Although mosquitoes are crucial elements in the transmission of avian malaria parasites, little is known of their ecology as vectors. We examined the presence of Plasmodium and Haemoproteus lineages in five mosquito species belonging to the genera Culex and Ochlerotatus to test for th...

The West Nile Virus (WNV) is a zoonotic arbovirus that has recently been causing outbreaks in many countries in southern and Central Europe. In 2012, for the first time, it caused an outbreak in eastern Croatia with total of 7 human clinical cases. With an aim of assisting public health personnel in order to improve survey protocols and vector control, the high risk areas of the WNV transmissio...

Life tables were constructed for six cohorts of immature stages of the floodwater mosquito Ochlerotatus albifasciatus (Macquart) in a park in Buenos Aires, highlighting the mortality attributable to the parasitic nematode, Strelkovimermis spiculatus Poinar & Camino. Two cohorts were selected to compare parasite incidence in all mosquito stages when low and high parasitism occurred. Development ...

The hypothesis that size-selective predation and species-specific prey behaviours facilitate the coexistence between larvae of invasive Aedes albopictus (Skuse) and U.S.A.-native Ochlerotatus triseriatus (Say) was tested experimentally with the predator Corethrella appendiculata (Grabham).Larval behaviours associated with a higher risk of predation were identified, and prey behavioural response...

Four species of the genus Barycnemis Förster are found to occur in Japan: B. dissimilis (Gravenhorst), B. harpura (Schrank), B. naganoensis sp. nov. and B. tobiasi Khalaim. These are the first records of Barycnemis from this country. All recognized Japanese species belong to the harpura species group. An identification key to four species of Barycnemis occurring in Japan is provided. Barycnemis...

Quedius (Raphirus) spencei Jacobs and Bergeron, new species, (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae), is described based on specimens from two localities (type locality: 35 km. E Dixonville, Alberta, Canada) in the Boreal Forest. Male genitalia are illustrated, compared with congeners (Q. rusticus Smetana and Q. simulator Smetana) in the Aenescens species group, and included in a slightly modified key to t...

We tested the use of mosquito traps as an alternative to spraying insecticide in Camargue (France) following the significant impacts observed on the non-target fauna through Bti persistence and trophic perturbations. In a village of 600 inhabitants, 16 Techno Bam traps emitting CO₂ and using octenol lures were set from April to November 2016. Trap performance was estimated at 70% overall based ...

A connection between loadings of inorganic Hg, especially from the atmosphere, and accumulation of methylmercury (MeHg) in aquatic biota has not been firmly established. Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) may be a useful indictor of Hg contamination or MeHg accumulation in aquatic ecosystems because they have aquatic life stages, and their ubiquitous distribution permits sampling across wide range...