A Preliminary Investigation on Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) Species in Kahramanmaraş, Türkiye
Abstract
Mosquito larvae were collected between January and December 2023 from aquatic habitats located in the Dulkadiroğlu and Onikişubat districts of Kahramanmaraş city center using a standard larval dipper. The collected larvae were reared in the laboratory, and species identification was performed when they reached the third and fourth larval instars. A total of 40,748 larvae were sampled, and 13 mosquito species belonging to the genera Culex (Linnaeus, 1758), Culiseta (Felt, 1904), Anopheles (Meigen, 1818) and Aedes (Meigen, 1818) were identified. Larvae that could not be identified to the species level were recorded at the genus level. The dominant species were Culex pipiens (Linnaeus, 1758) (62.1%) and Culiseta longiareolata (Macquart, 1838) (9.4%). The relative abundances of the remaining species were as follows: Culex hortensis (Ficalbi, 1889) (1.2%), Cx. territans (Walker, 1856) (1.4%), Cx. torrentium (Martini, 1925) (0.4%), Cx. perexiguus (Theobald, 1903) (2.4%), Cx. theileri (Theobald, 1903) (1.1%), Culiseta annulata (Schrank, 1776) (0.4%), Anopheles superpictus (Grassi, 1899) (1.3%), An. marteri (Senevet & Prunnelle, 1927) (0.1%), An. claviger (Meigen, 1804) (0.9%), An. sacharovi (Favre, 1903) (0.1%), and Aedes caspius (Pallas, 1771) (0.6%). This study represents the first comprehensive investigation of mosquito species in the central districts of Kahramanmaraş. The detection of several local vector species known to transmit serious infectious diseases underscores the importance of implementing effective and environmentally conscious mosquito control strategies. Conducting more extensive and long-term surveys that include neighboring regions will contribute to the prevention of vector-borne diseases that may pose risks to human and animal health in this area.
Keywords
References
- Akiner, M. M. & Çağlar, S.S. (2010). Birecik, Beyşehir ve Çankırı bölgelerinde Anopheles maculipennis grup türlerinin polimeraz zincir reaksiyonu (PZR) kullanarak araştırılması. Türkiye Parazitoloji Dergisi 34, 50-54.
- Akiner, M. M., Caglar, S. S., & Simsek, F. M. (2013). Yearly changes of insecticide susceptibility and possible insecticide resistance mechanisms of Anopheles maculipennis Meigen (Diptera: Culicidae) in Turkey. Acta tropica, 126(3), 280–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2013.02.020
- Akiner, M. M., Demirci, B., Babuadze, G., Robert, V. & Schaffner, F. (2016). Spread of the invasive mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in the Black Sea Region increases risk of Chikungunya, Dengue, and Zika Outbreaks in Europe. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 10(4), 1-5. https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pntd.0004664
- Aldemir, A. & Boşgelmez, A. (2006). Population dynamics of adults and immature stages of mosquitoes (Diptera:Culicidae) in Gölbaşı District, Ankara. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 30, 9-17.
- Alten, B. & Şimşek, F. M. (1999). Muğla ili, Ortaca-Sarıgerme yöresinde bulunan Culex martinii Medschid (Diptera: Culicidae) türünün ekolojisi üzerine araştırmalar. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 23, (1), 197-206. Beaty, B. J. & Marquardt, W. C. (1996). The Biology of Disease Vectors, Chicago, ABD: University Press of Colorado, ss. 450.
- Becker, N., Petric, D., Zgomba, M., Boase, C., Madon, M., Dahl, C. & Kaiser, A. (2010). Mosquitoes and their control. 2nd ed. Springer; Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany.
- Bişkin, Z., İnci, A., Yıldırım, A. & Düzlü, Ö. (2010). Kayseri’nin Felahiye yöresinde yaygınlık gösteren sivrisinek (Diptera: Culicidae) türleri. Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi (Journal of Health Sciences) 19(2), 133-139.
- Çetin, H. & Yanıkoğlu, A. (2004). Antalya kentinde bulunan sivrisinek (Diptera: Culicidae) türleri, üreme alanları ve baskın tür Culex pipiens L.’in bazı özellikleri. Türkiye Entomoloji Dergisi, 28 (4), 283-294.
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Entomology
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Early Pub Date
March 9, 2026
Publication Date
March 9, 2026
Submission Date
April 9, 2025
Acceptance Date
November 29, 2025
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Number: Advanced Online Publication
