Abstract

RUBIO, Alejandra  and  VEZZANI, Darío. Discarded car tires as breeding sites of Culex eduardoi (Diptera: Culicidae) in the Pereyra Iraola Provincial Park, Buenos Aires Province. Rev. Soc. Entomol. Argent. [online]. 2011, vol.70, n.1-2, pp.119-122. ISSN 0373-5680.

The knowledge about tire-breeding mosquitoes is truly scarce in Argentina. The objective of this study was to characterize a population of immatures of Culex eduardoi Casal & Garcia, from a pile of abandoned tires located in a suburban forest of Buenos Aires Province. Between November 2009 and May 2010, mosquito larvae were monthly collected in 27 abandoned tires within a woody area of the Parque Provincial Pereyra Iraola. A total of 1009 third and fourth instar larvae of Cx. eduardoi were collected, and the overall container index (CI) was 66.3% (106/160). Culex eduardoi was collected every month but the CI differed significantly (x²₍₆₎ = 15.11; p < 0.05), reaching maximum values in November and December (76 and 92.5% respectively). In spring, the relative abundance of larvae was also the highest, and the mean number of larvae collected per habitat was 9.5 (min. 3.5 in March; max.15.1 in November). Other mosquito species such as Cx. pipiens Linneo and Toxorhynchites theobaldi Dyar & Knab were also found in the studied containers. The present findings contribute with novel knowledge on culicids of tires in Argentina.

Keywords : Mosquitoes; Artificial containers; Argentina.

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