Investigation of mosquito larvae (Diptera, Culicidae) in the coastal area of Dalmatia, Croatia

Background and Purpose: The coastal region of Croatia was an autochthonous area of malaria until the first half of the 20th century. An investigation of mosquitoes in Dalmatia was carried out in order to obtain a better insight into the composition and distribution of mosquito species. Dalmatia is a very specific region with a high diversity of breeding sites. Material and Methods: Mosquitoes were collected in the larval stage with a larva net (20 cm in diameter), small glasses and an aspirator. The sampling took place from April to November during the period from 2001 to 2004 at 41 localities from Maslenica bridge to Prevlaka. Results and Conclusions: The investigation of mosquito fauna showed the presence of 25 species in natural and artificial breeding habitats. According to this investigation the most abundant mosquito species in Dalmatia were: Cx. pipiens complex (55,58 %), Cs. longiareolata (37,91 %) and Cs. annulata (33,34 %). The species whose presence in different types of breeding habitats varied between 10 % and 30 % were: Ae. vexans, An. claviger, An. maculipennis compleks, An. plumbeus, Cx. hortensis, Oc. caspius and Or. pulcripalpis. The remaining 15 species were rare for the region of Dalmatia.