Dipanwita Das
Abstract
Information on the bioecology of the mosquito vectors in Howrah, West Bengal, India is fragmentary in the perspective of disease epidemics. An effort was made to address the mosquito species assemblages in urban and rural areas employing random sampling methods, using the hand driven aspirators or the battery-operated light traps. The collected mosquitoes were identified following suitable keys and recorded for further analysis. Sixteen mosquito species belonging to seven genera were observed with varying relative abundance in rural and urban areas. The mosquito species richness remained significantly different (t(2), 9 =10.841 P < 0.0001) between the urban (n= 6 to 8 species per sample) and the rural areas (n= 10 to 14 species per sample) of Howrah, West Bengal. The Shannon-Weiner diversity index of the rural (Hâ = 2.00) areas reflected higher richness but low in abundance per mosquito species, compared to urban regions (Hâ=1.57). While Cx. quinquefasciatus (mean 75.25± 13.59 SE) was dominant in rural areas, Armigeres subalbatus (mean 98.58 ± 18.95SE) was principal species in the urban areas, based on the relative abundance. Occurrences of the multiple vector mosquitoes in the samples reflect the risk of epidemics, and calls for systematic monitoring to track species specific abundance of mosquitoes in the concerned region.