engleski

Rainfall as a limiting factor for the abundance of mosquitoes in 2002 and 2003 in Vinkovci, Eastern Croatia

The town of Vinkovci is located in the Pannonian plain (Eastern Craoatia) which is infamous for a great number of mosquitoes due to favorable climate, water regime of the rivers Drava, Danube and Bosut relief, rainfall, vegetation, and other abiotic factors. Therefore, Vinkovci have an organized Mosquito Control Program, part of which is also the Mosquito Monitoring. The mosquito monitoring in Vinkovci was organized for two years, using different methods. In addition to larvae sampling using a 25cm diameter net, we also used the CDC method with dry ice as attractant, as well as the man-aspirator method for 15 minutes. During 2002 we conducted 128 larvae samplings and recorded 53 active breeding sites with mosquito species, of which the dominant species was Culex pipiens (35, 56%). In the extremely dry 2003, we conducted 157 samplings and found 37 active breeding sites, with 7 mosquito species, of which the dominant species was again Culex pipiens (92, 96%). We not only recorded the differences in the number of breeding sites, but also in the abundance of adult mosquitoes. In 2002, CDC traps were set up at four sites (40 samplings) and we trapped 1656 individuals, i.e. 10 mosquito species, with the dominant species being Aedes vexans (54, 28%). In 2003, CDC were set up at 5 sites (50 samplings), trapping 667 individuals, i.e. 8 mosquito species, with the prevailing species being Culex pipiens (87, 56%). Using the man-aspirator method for 15 minutes in 2002 at 6 sites we trapped 3357 individuals, i.e. 12 mosquito species, with Aedes vexans as the dominant species. In 2003 at 6 sites we trapped 146 individuals i.e. 6 species, of which the dominant was Culex pipiens (78, 08%). The obtained results show that the rainfall rate has a very strong influence on both the decrease in abundance, and the decrease in the number of mosquito species in 2003.

mosquitoes; quantity; rainfull

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