NORTH-WESTERN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY 11 (1): 76-85 ©NwjZ, Oradea, Romania, 2015 Article No.: 141208 http://biozoojournals.ro/nwjz/index.html The fauna, habitats, and affinity indices of mosquito larvae (Diptera: Culicidae) in Central Iran Hassan LADONNI1, Shahyad AZARI-HAMIDIAN2,*, Mostafa ALIZADEH3, Mohammad-Reza ABAI1 and Hassan BAKHSHI1 1. Department of Medical Entomology and Vector Control, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 2. School of Health, Guilan University of Medical Sciences, Rasht, Iran. 3. Department of Diseases Control, Deputy of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran. * Corresponding author, S. Azari-Hamidian, Tel: +98 131 3229599, Fax: +98 131 3234155, E-mail:
[email protected] Received: 04. August 2013 / Accepted: 23. December 2013 / Available online: 01. January 2015 / Printed: June 2015 Abstract. Malaria and West Nile virus infections are rampant to Isfahan Province, Central Iran. These mosquito-borne diseases along with the nuisance caused by female adult bitings are troublesome throughout mosquito active season. During July–October 2003, May–September 2004 and 2006, we collected mosquito larvae from Isfahan using dipping method, to study their fauna, habitat, and affinity indices. Collected larvae were preserved in lactophenol and mounted using de Faure’s medium prior to microscopy study. Larvae were identified based on morphological characters. Out of 1659 third- and fourth-instar larvae, we discovered 15 species representing five genera including; Anopheles dthali, An. maculipennis s.l., An. marteri, An. multicolor, An. superpictus, An. turkhudi, Aedes vexans, Culex hortensis, Cx. mimeticus, Cx. perexiguus, Cx. pipiens, Cx. territans, Cx. theileri, Culiseta longiareolata, and Ochlerotatus caspius s.l.