Culex territans

Last updated

Culex territans
Culex territans 58984606.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Diptera
Family: Culicidae
Genus: Culex
Species:
C. territans
Binomial name
Culex territans
Walker, 1856
Synonyms
  • Culex frickii Ludlow, 1906
  • Culex nematoides Dyar & Shannon, 1925
  • Culex pyrenaicus Brolemann, 1919
  • Culex saxatilis Grossbeck, 1905
Northern Frog-Biting Mosquito (Culex territans) taking a blood meal from a Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) in Springfield, Virginia. 063 366 - Wood Frog - Lithobates sylvaticus with Northern Frog-biting Mosquito - Culex territans, Lake Accotink Park, Springfield, Virginia, March 3, 2024 (53565225117).jpg
Northern Frog-Biting Mosquito (Culex territans) taking a blood meal from a Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) in Springfield, Virginia.

Culex territans, or the Northern Frog-Biting Mosquito, is a species of mosquito found throughout North America, Europe, North Africa, and the Arabian Peninsula. [1] [2] [3]

Contents

Ecology

Adult female Culex territans overwinter in protected, humid, underground environments like caves. [4] In northern Europe, overwintering females are found in caves together with Culex pipiens , Culex torrentium , and Culiseta annulata . [5]

Larvae can be found in clean ponds with plenty of vegetation. [4]

Feeding behavior

Host preference

Females of this species can feed on many vertebrates, but most frequently feed on reptiles and amphibians, preferring frogs. [6] [2] [7] [8]

Finding hosts

This species is attracted to the calls of frogs. [7] Light is necessary for host-seeking as they do not feed in complete darkness. [9] Body temperature is not an important cue in host-seeking, which makes sense as their primary hosts are ectothermic. [10]

Medical and veterinary importance

Since they mainly feed on frogs, they do not pose a direct threat to human health in terms of vectoring pathogens. However, they have been found to be infected with West Nile Virus and Eastern Equine Encephalitis virus and may occasionally feed on humans, so they can potentially be of public health concern. [2]

Adult female Cx. territans have been found to harbor various pathogens such as anuran trypanosomes, ranaviruses, and filarial worms. [2] It has also been shown capable of mechanically transmitting the spores of chytrid fungus between frogs. [8]

References

  1. ↑ "Culex territans Walker, 1856". www.gbif.org. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "EENY-803/IN1394: Northern Frog Biting Mosquito Culex territans (Walker 1856) (Insecta: Diptera: Culicidae)". Ask IFAS - Powered by EDIS. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  3. ↑ Richard F. Jr. Darsie, Ronald A. Ward, Chien C. Chang, Taina Litwak. (2004). Identification and Geographical Distribution of the Mosquitoes: of North America, North of Mexico. University Press of Florida.
  4. 1 2 Andreadis TG. Identification Guide to the Mosquitoes of Connecticut. Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station; 2005. 188 p.
  5. ↑ Razygraev, A. V.; Sulesco, T. M. (2020). "The Use of the Bayes Factor for Identification of Culex pipiens and C. torrentium (Diptera: Culicidae) Based on Morphometric Wing Characters" . Entomological Review. 100 (2): 220–227. Bibcode:2020EntRv.100..220R. doi:10.1134/S0013873820020104. ISSN   1555-6689. S2CID   219554848.
  6. ↑ Becker, Norbert; Petric, Dusan; Zgomba, Marija; Boase, Clive; Madon, Minoo; Dahl, Christine; Kaiser, Achim (18 August 2010). Mosquitoes and Their Control. Springer Science & Business Media. ISBN   978-3-540-92874-4.
  7. 1 2 Bartlett-Healy, Kristen; Crans, Wayne; Gaugler, Randy (1 January 2008). "Phonotaxis to Amphibian Vocalizations in <I>Culex territans</I> (Diptera: Culicidae)". Annals of the Entomological Society of America. 101 (1): 95–103. doi: 10.1603/0013-8746(2008)101[95:PTAVIC]2.0.CO;2 . ISSN   0013-8746.
  8. 1 2 Reinhold, Joanna M.; Halbert, Ella; Roark, Megan; Smith, Sierra N.; Stroh, Katherine M.; Siler, Cameron D.; McLeod, David S.; Lahondère, Chloé (16 November 2023). "The role of Culex territans mosquitoes in the transmission of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis to amphibian hosts". Parasites & Vectors. 16 (1): 424. doi: 10.1186/s13071-023-05992-x . ISSN   1756-3305. PMC   10655354 . PMID   37974288.
  9. ↑ Reinhold, Joanna M. (6 September 2023). Some like it cold: interactions between the northern frog biting mosquito, Culex territans (Walker 1856), and its amphibian hosts (PhD thesis). Virginia Tech. hdl:10919/116233 . Retrieved 9 December 2024.
  10. ↑ Reinhold, Joanna M.; Chandrasegaran, Karthikeyan; Oker, Helen; Crespo, José E.; Vinauger, Clément; Lahondère, Chloé (January 2022). "Species-Specificity in Thermopreference and CO2-Gated Heat-Seeking in Culex Mosquitoes". Insects. 13 (1): 92. doi: 10.3390/insects13010092 . ISSN   2075-4450. PMC   8779787 . PMID   35055936.

Further reading


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.