Mosquitoes of Istria, a contribution to the knowledge of Croatian mosquito fauna (Diptera, Culicidae)

Background and Purpose: Although Istria was endemic of malaria up to the mid 20th century, the mosquito fauna was studied in detail. Our investigation of mosquitoes in Istria, a very specific region with a highly diverse breeding site types, was conducted in order to gain insights into the mosquito fauna and abundance, as well as to establish the possible presence of new species. Material and Methods: The sampling took place from May to September over a seven-year period, from 1999 to 2005. Mosquito larvae were trapped in medium and small breeding sites using a net 25 or 10 cm in diameter and a dipper. Adult specimens were sampled in both urban and forest areas using CO2 baited CDC traps, and the man – aspirator method for 15 minutes. Results and Conclusions: The research in the area of Istrian peninsula was conducted in 74 sites. We collected 3087 specimens and established the presence of 27 mosquito species. The most abundant mosquito species in the Istrian fauna is Culex pipiens complex with 43.34%, Ochlerotatus sticticus with 9.55%, and Culex hortensis with 9.32%. The remaining 24 species have the share of 37.79%. The largest number of species, 12, were recorded in two sites, Motovun and Pula. In other sites we determined from one to ten species, and the distribution of themost abundant species is presented on UTM maps. Our systematic investigation of mosquitoes in Istria, taking into account the specificities of the terrain and favorable climatic conditions, recorded the mosquito fauna of Istria, species distribution and dominance. The fauna includes 27 mosquito species and shows a great faunistic diversity (54% of the total Croatian mosquito fauna)