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31 December 2011 Mosquito Vectors Survey in the AL-Ahsaa District of Eastern Saudi Arabia
Ashraf M. Ahmed, Essam A. Shaalan, Mourad A. M. Aboul-Soud, Frédéric Tripet, Abdulaziz A. Al-Khedhairy
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Abstract

The present study aimed to identify the mosquito vectors distributed throughout AL-Ahsaa district situated in the eastern region of Saudi Arabia. Mosquito larvae were collected seasonally for one year (October 2009 to September 2010) from different breeding sites in seven rural areas utilizing long aquatic nets. Salinity and pH of these breeding sites were also measured seasonally. The survey revealed the presence of five mosquito species, Aedes caspius Pallas (Diptera: Culicidae), Anopheles multicolor Cambouliu, Culex perexiguus Theobald, Culex pipiens L., and Culex pusillus Macquart, representing three genera; four of them (Ae. caspius, An. multicolor, Cx. perexiguus, and Cx. pipiens) are important vectors of diseases. Ae. caspius is the most common vector followed by Cx. pipiens and then Cx. perexiguus. Mosquitoes in AL-Ahsaa are prevalent in both winter and spring seasons, rarely encountered in summer, and are found in moderation during the autumn months. These results are compared with results of other regions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This is an open access paper. We use the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license that permits unrestricted use, provided that the paper is properly attributed.
Ashraf M. Ahmed, Essam A. Shaalan, Mourad A. M. Aboul-Soud, Frédéric Tripet, and Abdulaziz A. Al-Khedhairy "Mosquito Vectors Survey in the AL-Ahsaa District of Eastern Saudi Arabia," Journal of Insect Science 11(176), 1-11, (31 December 2011). https://doi.org/10.1673/031.011.17601
Received: 11 February 2011; Accepted: 1 April 2011; Published: 31 December 2011
KEYWORDS
Aedes caspius
Anopheles multicolor
Culex perexiguus
Culex pipiens
Culex pusillus
mosquito larvae
seasonal abundance
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