UPDATED COUNTY MOSQUITO SPECIES RECORDS FOR NORTHWEST FLORIDA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32473/jfmca.v67i1.127629Abstract
This report updates the mosquito species composition for Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Holmes, Washington, Jackson, Calhoun, Liberty, Gadsden, Leon, Wakulla, Jefferson, Madison, and Taylor Counties, through collections made in a centralized surveillance program operated from 2002-2020 in northwest Florida. 91 county species records were documented. The most notable discoveries included finding Mansonia titillans (Walker) in eleven of the fourteen surveyed counties, Psorophora horrida (Dyar and Knab) in nine, Anopheles perplexens Ludlow in eight and Culex erraticus (Dyar and Knab) and Uranotaenia lowii Theobald in seven. Psorophora mathesoni Belkin and Heinemann and Aedes japonicus japonicus (Theobald) were found in six new counties. Culex pilosus (Dyar and Knab) was found solely in Calhoun and Liberty Cos., while Culex peccator Dyar and Knab and Culex tarsalis Coquillett were recovered in Calhoun Co. and Santa Rosa Co., respectively. Mansonia titillans, Cx. erraticus, Cx. tarsalis and Ae. j. japonicus are known arbovirus vectors, thus increasing the disease risk in this region.