The Identification of culicine mosquitoes in the Shadegan wetland in Southwestern Iran

Abstract

In order to study the culicine mosquito fauna (Diptera: Culicidae: Culicinae) of the Shadegan wetland in southern Khouzestan Province of Iran, sampling was carried out using hand catch, total catch, and New Jersy light traps, from October 2008 to March 2009. A total of 2664 culicine mosquitoes were captured. Three genera and five species were identified, including Culex pipiens L., Cx. tritaeniorhynchus Giles, Cx. sinaiticus Kirkpatrik, Cx. modestus Ficalbi, Ochlerotatus caspius Pallas and a Culiseta species. All of these species, reported for the first time, were from the Shadegan wetland and Khouzestan Province, and some are medically important.