The Mosquitoes Species Composition, Distribution, and Environmental Preferences of District Dir Upper

Abstract

This research study on mosquito fauna of District Dir Upper, Pakistan, presents the dominance of Culex quinquefasciatus, Culex pipiens, Anopheles franciscanus, Aedes aegypti, and Aedes albopictus conducted in 2019. The main objectives of this study were to document the species make-up, ecological preferences, host association and environmental influences on abundance from across the district. Culex quinquefasciatus made up the majority of the mosquitoes at 75.20%, followed by Culex pipiens (10.50%), Anopheles franciscanus (8.40%), Aedes aegypti (4.20%), and Aedes albopictus (1.70%). The findings have highlighted specifics of ecological preferences for each species of mosquito. For example, Culex quinquefasciatus was predominately in urbanized habitats with stagnant water bodies or pools that had relatively warm temperatures, but Anopheles franciscanus were present in primarily cooler areas at high altitudes. Aedes aegypti, who is the main vector responsible for both dengue and Zika, is more often collected in urbanized areas, with most being collected in containers and some artificial sources of water. The host preference study showed that for Culex quinquefasciatus and Anopheles franciscanus mosquitoes, humans were preferred hosts (65% and 75%, respectively) while for Aedes aegypti, humans were much more favored (85%). With respect to the ratio of sexes, the study shows that female mosquitoes are predominately collected (85% for Culex quinquefasciatus; 80% for Culex pipiens; 75% for Anopheles franciscanus; 88% for Aedes aegypti), and are of course the responsible sex for transmitting various diseases. In terms of activity, Culex and Anopheles mosquitoes are considered nocturnal as opposed to Aedes who are diurnal. Overall, this study presents significant behavioral and ecological insights.