Ecology of four potential culex vectors(Diptera: Culicidae) of Japanese encephalitis in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Abstract

A field studies on the four major potential vectors of Japanese encephalitis in Sri Lanka, i.e., culex tritaeniorynchus Giles, Cx. gelidus Theobald, Cx. pseudovishnui Colless and Cx. fuscocephala Theobald, was done from September 1986 - December 1987 at 4 study the city of Kandy, in the Central Province of Sri Lanka. A total of 73,968 mosquitoes belonging to 10 genera and 45 species were trapped by CDC light traps operated on a weekly basis in a piggery at each site. Mearly 88perc. of light- trapped mosquitoes belong to the above four species. Two population peaks were observed in May - June and October - December, coinciding with the periodicity of monsoonal rains and rice cultivation cycles. Time segregated light trap catches showed that the four species were active throughout the night , with dusk and dawn peaks in Cx. pseudovishnui and Cx. gelidus respectively