Observations on Haemagogus janthinomys Dyar (Diptera: Culicidae) and other mosquito populations within tree holes in a gallery forest in the northwestern region of Sao Paulo state, Brazil

ABSTRACT

In 2000, an outbreak of sylvatic yellow fever possibly occurred in gallery forests of the Grande river in the Paraná basin in the northwestern region of São Paulo state. The aim of this study was to obtain information on the bionomics of Haemagogus and other mosquitoes inside tree holes in that area. Eighteen open tree holes were sampled for immature specimens. Adults were collected twice a month in the forest in Santa Albertina county from July 2000 to June 2001. The seasonal frequency of fourth instars was obtained by the Williams geometric mean (Mw), while the adult frequency was estimated either by hourly arithmetic or the Williams' means. Cole's index was applied to evaluate larval inter-specific associations. Among the ten mosquito species identified, the most abundant was Aedes terrens Walker followed by Sabethes tridentatus Cerqueira and Haemagogus janthinomys Dyar. Larval and adult abundance of these species was higher in summer than in winter. Although larval abundance of Hg. janthinomys peaked in the rainy season, correlation with rainfall was not significant. Six groups of larval associations were distinguished, one of which the most positively stable. The Hg. janthinomys and Ae. terrens association was significant, and Limatus durhamii Theobald was the species with most negative associations.