Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) fauna in Alappuzha and Kottayam district of the Kerala state, south India

Abstract

The study was conducted to look at the mosquito fauna in different sites of Alappuzha and Kottayam districts, Kerala state to generate information on the diversity of mosquitoes. A total of 44 species of mosquitoes belonging to 21 subgenera and 11 genera were recorded in Alappuzha district and 21 species of mosquitoes belonging to 14 subgenera and 9 genera were recorded in Kottayam districts. The genus Aedes, Anopheles, Mansonia, Heizmannia, Culex, Ficalbia, Uranotaenia, Tripteroides, Armigeres, Coquillettidia, and Mimomyia were recorded in Alappuzha district. Aedes, Anopheles, Armigeres, Culex, Heizmannia, Tripteroides, Toxorhynchites and Uranotaenia were recorded in Kottayam district. Species common to both districts were Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus), Aedes albopictus (Skuse), Aedes vittatus (Bigot), Armigeres subalbatus (Coquillett), Culex fuscanus (Wiedemann), Culex quinquefasciatus (Say), Culex tritaeniorhynchus (Giles), Heizmannia greenii (Theobald), Heizmannia indica (Theobald) and Toxorhynchites affinis (Edwards). Paddy field, mud pools, fallow fields, man-made artificial containers were the common breeding area in Alappuzha district and in Kottayam district tree holes, coconut shells, artificial containers and leaf axils were the main breeding habitats.