Larval mosquito fauna (Family Culicidae) of Sta. Ignacia,Tarlac,Province,Philippines

Surveillance of the presence of larval mosquitoes was performed in the suburban municipality of Sta. Ignacia, Tarlac Province, Philippines, with approximately 94.0% of the land area still devoted to agriculture. Five districts were covered, namely: Macageuing, San Francisco, San Vicente, Sta. Ines Centro, and Sta. Ines East. The standard dipping method was used to collect mosquito larvae from rice fields, ponds, creeks, streams and used tires and larvae were identified at the genus level. Culex sp. was the most abundant with a calculated mean breeding index of 22 larvae per dip. Anopheles sp. and Aedes sp. were likewise identified with mean breeding indices of five and two larvae per dip, respectively. In two samplings, Culex sp. had the highest mean larval breeding index (MLBI) of 9 larvae/dip in Sta. Ines Centro (West); while Sta. Vicente registered higher MLBI of Anopheles sp. and Aedes sp. relative to sites in other districts. Considering the endemicity of malaria, lymphatic filariasis and dengue in the country, present findings are valuable in the formulation of control measures specifically targeting presently identified breeding sites that revealed considerable mosquito population. To arrive at a comprehensive picture, we highly recommend a validation of current data in similar sampling sites in the other districts of Sta. Ignacia, concurrent with a species-specific surveillance of culicidae mosquitoes