Preliminary study of mosquitoes’ diversity (Diptera: Culicidae) in tree holes in an Atlantic Forest reserve in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

Abstract

This study aimed to do a short and single survey of the diversity of mosquitoes found in tree holes within a fragment of Atlantic Forest in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. Larvae were collected through active search, inspecting tree cavities and collecting water and larvae using a homemade siphon on a single day. Eight species of Culicidae were recorded from the surveyed tree holes. Haemagogus leucocelaenus (Dyar & Shannon, 1924) and Haemagogus janthinomys Dyar, 1921 were the most abundant species, accounting for 63.1% of the total specimens collected, followed by Culex (Microculex) sp. (12.20%), Aedes terrens (Walker, 1856) (5.26%) and Aedes fulvithorax (Lutz, 1904) (1.75 %). Although there are other breeding sites in nature (bromeliads and bamboos), tree holes in native trees play a fundamental role in maintaining and conserving the culicid fauna due to their water storage capacity, especially in wild species, such as species of the genus Haemagogus Williston, 1896.