Comparison of nocturnal activities of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) sampled by New Jersey light traps and CO2 traps in Belek, Turkey.

Temporal and seasonal variations in the nocturnal activities of adult females of six locally common mosquitoes, Aedes cretinus, Ochlerotatus caspius, Oc. dorsalis, Culex pipiens, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus and Culiseta annulata were studied at Belek, Turkey, using New Jersey light traps and CO2 charged olfactory traps. In addition to assessing the relative value of these traps as sampling devices capable of measuring activity at different periods of the night, these studies also examined the seasonal contribution of each species to the phenology of the overall mosquito population. While statistical results showed that differences in activation time preferences were found to be not significant for each species, the nocturnal activity profiles of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Ae. cretinus and Oc. caspius were definitely differed from those of other species. Ae. cretinus was a common species with a rate of 26.1% at 18:00-20:00, whereas the adult rate of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus was determined to be the lowest (11.4%) at that time interval. Significant differences were found at the time intervals 18:00-20:00, 22:00-24:00 and 02:00-04:00 in the general bias of mosquito populations among different months. While the nocturnal patterns of Cx. tritaeniorhynchus and Ae. cretinus were found to be bimodal, it was monomodal for Oc. caspius and Cu. annulata, unimodal for Cx. pipiens and Ae. dorsalis. While 69.6% of females captured by traps throughout the study period were found to be unfed, 24.8% were fed, 4.1% were half-gravid and 1.4% were gravid. Statistical results of trap preferences of Aedes species were found to be significant (P < 0.05). Oc. caspius and Ae. dorsalis preferred New Jersey light traps to CO2 traps. Light trap and CO2 trap collections can be influenced by design features including the amount of contrast between the light sources and surroundings. These features were found to be highly significant factors for the biting activity Cx. pipiens and Cx. tritaeniorhynchus.