Diptera: Culicidae) Richard F

Iowa State University From the SelectedWorks of Gregory W. Courtney November, 1993 Notes on the mosquitoes of Nepal: III. additional new records in 1992 (Diptera: Culicidae) Richard F. Darsie, Jr., University of South Carolina Gregory W. Courtney, Smithsonian Institution Shreedhar P. Pradhan, U.S. Agency for International Development Available at: https://works.bepress.com/gregory_courtney/39/ Mosquito Systematics, 25(3): 186-191, 1993 Copyright © 1993 by the American Mosquito Control Association, Inc. NOTES ON THE MOSQUITOES OF NEPAL: III. ADDITIONAL NEW RECORDS IN 1992 (DIPTERA: CULICIDAE) 1 2 RICHARD F. DARSIE, JR. , GREGORY W. COURTNEY AND SHREEDHAR P. PRADHAN3 ABSTRACT. The result~ of a mosquito survey in the Western Region of Nepal are reported. A genus, Aede~myza, two subgenera, Aedeomyia and Tripteroides, and 14 species are reco:ded for the ~rst time. Most of the new records are species in the genus Aedes collected at the higher elevat10ns of the Annapurna Range of the Himalaya Mountains. INTRODUCTION tions during the period July to October. We are here reporting results of our explorations. The Himalayan country of Nepal is diverse Objectives and methods are the same as those not only with respect to altitude and topog given by Darsie et al. (1992). raphy but also in terms of its native biota. Our first camp was in Pokhara, Kaski Dis Faunistically the country is considered to be trict, at an altitude of 915 m. Although at a a composite of the Palearctic and Oriental relatively low altitude, Pokhara is only 25 km biogeographic regions. It is expected that Ne from the summits of the Annapurna Himal, pal's mosquito diversity will parallel the a range that contains three peaks exceeding country's topographical and biogeographic 7 ,000 m. Due to its proximity to these high diversity and that an effective survey of this mountains, Pokhara has become one of the multifariousness will require considerable most popular tourist centers in Nepal. A log time and effort. The current study was, there ical outgrowth of its location and popularity fore, designed to survey the fauna over a four is the development of a good system of all year period, each year focusing on a different weather roads and convenient trekking routes region. Nepal is divided into five political and facilities. Consequently, they afforded us regions, Eastern, Central, Western, Mid ready access to many districts and moun western, and Farwestern. During 1991, the tainous areas. From this base, mosquitoes first year of the study, the Eastern Region was were sampled throughout the northern part studied, with significant discoveries reported of the Western Region, including sections of by Darsie et al. (1992). The nation's capital, Kaski, Parbat, Tanahu, Gorkha, Myagdi, and Kathmandu, is in the Central Region, where Mustang districts. The Pokhara camp lasted many previous collections have been made. 38 days, which permitted sufficient time to Because the mosquito fauna of this region is sample a diversity of mosquito habitats. A well known, it was omitted from this project. visit to the northernmost Mustang District The 1992 survey was concentrated in the and associated treks into mountainous ter Western Region, primarily in the mountain rain were especially rewarding, allowing us ous areas around Pokhara and the T erai west to sample habitats up to 3,800 m. Further of Butwal town. Working from two base details on the Mustang experience will be the camps, we made a total of 331 field callee- subject of a separate paper. The second camp was established in the 1 International Center for Public Health Research Uni- Terai 60 km west of Butwal, near the small ~~s~~4~~~outh Carolina, P.O. Box 699, McClella~ville, village of Tikkar in Kapilvastu District. This lowland site at an altitude of 250 m was lo ~Department of Entomology, National Museum of Nat cated in a primary forest adjacent to several ural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20560. small farms and a small permanent stream. 1 USAID/Nepal, Rabi Bhawan, Kalimati, Kathmandu, Tikkar is composed of three separate com Nepal. munities, each surrounded by rice paddies. 186 NOVEMBER 1993 187 The village and neighboring terrain, mostly 92, 12, reared from pupa; VIII-13-92, 32, 25, forested, yielded diverse mosquito habitats, reared from larvae and pupae; VIII-14-92, including artificial containers, ditches, tree 102, 15, reared from larvae, 252, 285, reared holes, borrow pits, leaf axils, and crab holes. from pupae, BBP, ex unused concrete fish The one drawback was the paucity ofbamboo ponds with floating decaying plant material, plantings in the area. Three collectors were associated with Anopheles annularis van der dispatched to Tansen, Palpa District, at 1,300 Wulp, An. subpictus Grassi, An. vagus Doe m to survey breeding sites. There they en nitz, Culex pseudovishnui Colless. countered sufficient bamboo to make mean Aedeomyia catasticta is widely distributed ingful collections. Also, nearby Rupandehi throughout the Oriental Region, south to and Argakanchi districts were visited. Our Australia and east to the South Pacific Islands Tikkar camp continued for 23 days. (Knight and Stone 1977, Tyson 1970, Bar The genus Aedeomyia Theobald, subgen raud 1934, as Ad. venustipes (Skuse)). How era Aedeomyia Theobald and Tripteroides ever, the genus Aedeomyia Theobald had Giles, and 14 species were recorded from Ne never been taken in Nepal. The tenacity of pal for the first time. Most of these discov B.B. Pradhan was responsible for locating the eries belong to the genus Aedes, 11 in the larval habitat. The breeding site near Begnash subgenus Finlaya Theobald and one in sub Tal was a series of concrete tanks that had genus Aedimorphus Theobald. The preva been constructed as part of an aquaculture lence of Aedes among the new records reflect project. The tanks had not yet been employed ed a sample design that focused on habitats for fish production, and most were about half frequented by species of this genus. Before full of water containing volunteer aquatic the present project began in 1991, 24 species plants. Larvae of Ad. catasticta were associ of Aedes were known from Nepal (Darsie and ated with floating aggregates of gray, decaying Pradhan 1990). In the past two years, an ad aquatic vegetation, mostly confined to the ditional 24 species have been added. It is now comers of the tanks. This distinctive mos the genus represented by the largest number quito was easily recognized using Tyson of species. ( 1970). The subgenus Aedeomyia Theobald The collection records below show the oth is also a new record for Nepal, and Tyson er species with which the 14 newly recorded characterizes it in his keys. taxa were associated. We have no such data on Ae. pampangensis (Ludlow) because only Aedes (Aedimorphus) pampangensis (Ludlow) adults were collected. The immature stages of all other species were found in association KAPILVASTU, Gorasinghi, Tikkar Vil with one to 11 species in seven genera. lage, elevation 250 m, IX-18-92, 22, SNJ, Abbreviations for the collectors used in the attracted to humans in primary forest. data below are as follows: GWC-G.W. This species was described by Reinert Courtney, MD-M. Das, SNJ-S.N. Jha, (1973), who synonymizedAe. niveoscutellum GSN-G.S. Nepal, BBP-B.B. Pradhan, and Theobald with it. It is apparently confined to TS-T. Shrestha. The abbreviations for the low elevations. genera follow Reinert ( 197 5). The name of the political district is given in uppercase let Aedes (Finlaya) albotaeniatus (Leicester) ters. KASKI, Chhomrung, Annapurna Base Camp trail, elevation 2,200 m, VIII-23-92, NEW COUNTRY RECORDS 12, reared from pupa, GWC, ex reservoir with clear, fresh water, associated with Ae. shortti Aedeomyia (Aedeomyia) catasticta Knab (Barraud), Ae. pseudotaeniatus (Giles). KASKI, Pokhara, Begnash Tal (Lake), 6 Although our specimen was collected at km E of Pokhara, elevation 677 m, VIII-8- 2,200 m, this species is by no means confined 188 MOSQUITO SYSTEMATICS VOL. 25, No. 3 to the higher altitudes. Harrison et al. ( 1991) bopictus, Ae. albolateralis, Ar. subalbatus gave a meaningful discussion of its distri (collected by BBP). bution, in most of the Oriental Region from Pokhara, Yamdi Khola bridge near Suikh India and Nepal eastward, and taxonomic et, elevation 1,200 m, VIII-13-92, 12, reared status. Edwards (1922) described a new re from larva, 15, reared from pupa, ex treehole, lated species, Ae. mikiranus from Assam, In associated with Ae. albolateralis, Ae. guber dia, which was reduced to a variety of Ae. natoris (Giles), Ae. feegradei Barraud, Ae. albotaeniatus by Barraud ( 19 34) and was syn craggi (Barraud), VIII-13-92, 12, GWC, onymized with Ae. albotaeniatus by Harrison reared from pupa, ex bamboo stump, asso et al. (1991). The Nepal specimen is the Ae. ciated with Ae. albolateralis; Kaare, elevation mikiranus form, characterized by a scutum 1,600 m, VIII-13-92, 25, reared from pupae, with dark brown scales and indistinct narrow GWC, ex treehole, associated with Ae. al yellow lines rather than a white frontal patch bolateralis, Ae. cogilli Edwards, Ae. deccanus as in the typical form (Barraud 1934). (Barraud); Lumle, elevation 1,200 m, VIII- This species belongs to the Albotaeniatus 13-92, 15, reared from larva, 25, reared from Group as defined by Knight (1948). The group pupae, BBP, ex treehole, associated with Ae. contains 28 species with odd geographic dis gilli (Barraud), Ae. albolateralis; Pokhara, tribution, i.e., 17 species in the Australasian Sarangkot Pakha, elevation 1,000 m, VIII- Region, eight on the Indian Subcontinent, and 19-92, 22, reared from larvae, 35, reared from one each in Korea and the Philippines. The pupa, BBP, ex treehole, associated with Ae. nominate species is widely distributed. albolateralis, Ar.

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