Relative Abundance, Distribution, and Diversity of Mosquitoes in District Peshawar, Charsadda, and Swabi

Aims: To date, there are 3601 named mosquito species recognized worldwide representing the diverse and medically important fly family Culicidae. In this study, after collection and identification of mosquitoes from the study area, their diversity, relative abundance (RA), and distribution (C) were evaluated for the prevention of mosquito-borne diseases.

Place and Duration of Study: Mosquitoes in their immature and adult stages were collected from their habitats in district Peshawar, Charsadda, and Swabi from September 2021 till April 2022.

Study Design: The immature samples were collected from various places such as pots, small water containers, bushy places under trees, and from the edges of some open drains. While the adult mosquitoes were collected during the same period by using the light trap and Pyrethrum spray methods for outdoor and indoor environment, respectively.

Methodology: 252 and 295 mosquitoes in their larval and pupal, and adult stages, respectively, were collected and brought to the laboratory for rearing and were observed on daily basis. All the adult specimens were preserved using silica gel in test tubes. The specimens were kept in entomological boxes after rearing and preservation for identification. Taxonomic identification of the adult mosquitoes was made using the key provided in the fauna of British India.

Results: The identification showed the presence of four species belonging to three genera: Culex quinquefasciatus; Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus; and Armigeres subalbatus. Culex quinquefasciatus was the most abundant specie found at all the study sites (C=100% and RA=44.24%), while Armigeres subalbatus was found to be an infrequent specie (C=25% and RA=20.66%). Several indices were also calculated to find out the diversity of the mosquitoes. The Shannon-Weiner index (H) for the month of April and December are 1.32 and 0.60, respectively, representing highest and lowest diversities among the study period.

Conclusion: The study found that Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti, and Aedes albopictus are the most prevalent species in the study area and their presence increases the risk of mosquito-borne diseases such as West Nile virus, Filariasis, and Japanese Encephalitis transmission in the area. The study suggests further research to examine the diversity of mosquitoes more thoroughly to design effective vector control strategies and predict the risk of future disease outbreaks.