Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, ZO(3):22g_232,2004 Copyright @ 20M by the American Mosquito Control Association, Inc. A CHECKLIST OF MOSQUITOES (DIPTERA: CULICIDAE) OF PONDICHERRX INDIA WITH NOTES ON NEW AREA RECORDS A. R. RAJAVEL, R. NATARAJAN AND K. VAIDYANATHAN Vector Control Research Centre (ICMR), pondicherry 6O5 0O6, India ABSTRACT A checklist of mosquito species for Pondicherry, India, is presented based on collections made from November 1995 to September 1997. Mosquitoes of 64 species were found belonging to 23 subgenera and 14 genera, Aedeomyia, Aedes, Anopheles, Armigeres, Coquitlettidia, Culex, Ficalbia,- Malaya, Maisonia, Mi- momyia, Ochlerotatus, Toxorhynchites, {lranotaenia, and Verrallina. We report 25 new speciLs for pondicherry. KEY WORDS Mosquitoes, check list, new area records, pondicherry, India INTRODUCTION season. The period from December to February is Documentation of species is a critically impor- relatively cool. tant component of biodiversity studies and has great significance in conservation of genetic re- MATERIALS AND METHODS sources as well as control of pests and vectors. In India, mosquito fauna of several states has been Mosquito surveys were made from November documented, but comprehensive information on 1995 to September 1997 . Each of the 6 communes, species diversity is not available for Pondicherry. Ariankuppam, Bahour, Mannadipet, Nettapakkam, A recent update on the distribution of Aedini mos- Ozhukarai, and Villianur, were considered as dis- quitoes in India by Kaur (2003) included all the tinct units to ensure complete coverage of the re- states except Pondicheny. The 14 species of mos- gion, and collections were made in a total of 97 quitoes collected by Nair (1960) during the filarial villages among these and in the old town of Pon- survey in Pondicherry settlement is the earliest dicherry. Immatures were collected from all types known record of the mosquito fauna of Pondicher- of larval breeding sources, ranging from ground ry. The record was upgraded to 43 species through habitats to container habitats, both natural and man collections made from 1976 to 1981 (Vector Con- made. Sampling devices, like dippers, pipettes, si- trol Research Center [VCRC], unpublished data). phons, and buckets, appropriate to the type oflarval However, except for the mosquito faunistic survey habitat were used. Adult collections were done in done in 1977, the other collections were mostly re- human dwellings, cattle sheds, and among vegeta- lated to investigation of vector-borne diseases and tion using either an oral or mechanical aspirator. hence mainly focused on vector species. Here we Larvae were reared to adulthood in the labora- report on the results of a systematic survey con- tory and identification was based mainly on adult ducted over 2 years to document the mosquito fau- characters and, wherever necessary, associated lar- na of the Pondicherry region, between ll'46' and val and pupal skins were mounted for confirmation. 12o15'N latitude, and between 79"36' and79"53'E Male and female genitalia were also mounted in a longitude. It is bounded by the Bay of Bengal, Cud- few cases for the same purpose. Species determi- dalore, and Villupuram districts of Tamil Nadu nations were made using keys (Christophers 1933; State. Pondicherry, which is formed of 6 communes Barraud 1934;Bram 1967; Delfinado 1968; Reinert and the old town, is not a contiguous area, but is 197O,1973; Tyson 1970; Huang 1972,1977,1979;' interspersed within the 2 districts of Tamil Nadu. Sirivanakarn 1972, 1976, 1977 ; Abercombie 1977 ). The layout of Pondicherry presents a peculiar pic- Voucher specimens for all species recorded were ture of territorial jurisdiction and may be the only mounted and deposited in the mosquito museum of one of its kind in India. The region is flat and in- the Culicid Biodiversitv Cell at the VCRC. Pondi- tersected by deltaic channels of the rivers Gingee cherry, India. and Ponnaiyar forming the 2 main drainage basins. The total area of Pondicherry is 293 km'. The main RESULTS AND DISCUSSION soil types are red ferralitic, black clayey, and coast- al alluvium. The water table is very high in most Mosquitoes of 64 species belonging to 23 sub- parts of this region. The climate is characterized by genera and 14 genera were recorded (Table 1). Gen- -- a yearly range of temperature (average low 22"C era included Aedeomyia, Aedes, Anopheles, Armi- and average high = 37'C), humid weather (above geres, Coquillettidia, Culex, Ficalbia, Malaya, ' TOVo relative humidity), and moderate (average of Mansonia, Mimomyia, Ochlerotatus, Toxorhynchi' 115 cm) rainfall. The summer lasts from March to tes, (Jranotaenia, and Verrallina. Of the 64 species June, followed by the period of southwest monsoon recorded, 25 are new records for Pondicherry. The that lasts to September. The months of October and three genera Aedes, Anopheles, and Culex were November constitute the main northeast monsoon more predominant, with 15, 12, and 2l species re- 228 SeprBlassn 2004 MoseunoEs or PoNotcHsnnY, INDIA 229 Table 1. List of culicid species recorded in spectively. Besides these 3 genera, collections of Pondicherrv. India. Nair (1960) included only Armigeres ar'd Manso- nia. Anopheles aconitus recorded by Nair (1960) Aedeomy ia (Aedeomyia) c atas tic ta Knabl collections. Aedes (Aedimorphus) jamesi (Edwards) was not obtained during subsequent Ae. (Adm.) pallidostriatus (Theobald)' Also, An. leucosphyrus, Ve. pseudomediofaciata, Ae. (Adm.) pipersalatus (Giles)r and Cx. pluvialis recorded in the mosquito survey Ae. (Adm.) vexans Meigen in 1977 (VCRC, unpublished data) have not been Ae. (Christophersiomyia) annulirostris (Theobald)r collected subsequently. Lack of voucher specimens Ae. (Chr.) thomsoni (Theobald)l of earlier collections does not permit confirmation (Dice Ae. romyia) ramac handrai Reuben' of their occulTence. We have excluded these 4 spe- Ae. (Dic.) reginae Edwardsr cies from the list of mosquitoes of Pondicherry, as Ae. (Fredwa rdsius) vittatus (Bigot) they were not obtained in the extensive collections Ae. (N eome laniconion) lineatopennis (Ludlow) Ae. (Stegomyia) aegypti (Linnaeus) made during the present survey. Ae. (Ste.) albopicuts (Skuse) Of the 64 species recorded, 61 were collected as Ae. (Stg.) krombeini Huangl immatures from different habitats. The larval hab- Ae. (Sts.) novalbopictus Barraud' itats of mosquitoes are varied and different classi- Ae. (StS.) w-albus (Theobald) fications are available (Bates 1949, Colless 1957, Anopheles (Anopheles) barbirostris Van der Wulp Mattingly 1969), but Laird (1988) proposed a stan- (Ano.) An. nigerrimus Giles dard system comprising I 1 categories in 2 broad An. (Ano.) peditaeniatus (Leicester)l subdivisions, namely, aboveground waters and sub- An. (Cellia) annularis Van der Wulp habitats in An. (Cel.) culicifocies Giles terranean waters. Though the larval An. (Cel.) jamesi Theobald Pondicherry can be grouped under 8 of these cat- An. (Cel.) pallidus Theobald egories, the peculiar preference of certain species An. (Cel.) stephensi Liston required further description (Table 2). As polluted An. (Cel.\ subpictus Crassi drains, cesspits, and septic tanks are known to sup- An. (Cel.) tessellatus Theobald port breeding of Cx. quinquefasciatus, these have An. (Cel.) vagus Doenitz not been included. (Cel.) An. varuna lyengar Ground pools constituted 1 of the important lar- Armigeres (Annigeres) subalbatus (Coquillett) val habitats from which 34 species were collected. Coqui llettidia (Coquillettidia) c ras sipe s (Van der Wulp) Culex (Cule x) bitaeniorhynchzs Giles Presence or absence of vegetation in irrigation ca- ponds of water (clear Cx. (Cux.) fuscocephala Theobald nals and and the condition Cx. (Cux.) gelidus'theobald, versus muddy) in wells and cement tanks similarly Cx. (Cux.\ hutchinsoni Barraudl resulted in higher numbers of species inhabiting Cx. (Cux.) infula Theobaldl these habitats. Cx. (Cux.) murrelli Lienl Exploitation of a wide variety of larval habitats Cx. (Cux.) pseudovishnui Colless was evident in some species of Culex and Anoph- (Cux.) quinquefosciatus Cx. Say eles, whlle those of Aedes were habitat specific. Cx. (Cux.\ sitiens Wiedemann Anopheles barbirostris, An. subpictus, Cx. bitae- Cx. (Cux.) tritaeniorhynchzs Giles Cx. (Cux.\ vishnui Theobald, niorhynchus, Cx. fuscanus, Cx. gelidus, Cx. minu- Cx. (Cux.) whitmorei (Giles) tissimus, Cx. pseudovishnui, and Cx. tritaeniorhyn- Cx. (.Culiciomyia) ni gropunctarzs Edwardsr chus inhabited 4-6 categories, while species of Cx. (Cui.) pallidothorax Theobald Aedes inhabited not more than 2. This marked hab- Cx. (Eumelanomyia) brevipalpis (Giles) itat preference in Aedes extended to the subgeneric Cx. (Eum.) malayi (Leicester)l level, as species of subgenera Stegomyia, Christo- (Lophoceraomyia) Cx. infantulas Edwards phersomyia, ar'd Diceromyia were collected only Cx. (Lop.) minutissimus (Theobald) from natural or artificial containers and those of Cx. (Lop.) rubithoracis (Leicester)r subgenus Aedimorphus only from ground pools. Cx. (Lutz,ia) fuscazus Weidemann Cx. (Lut.) halifaxii Theobaldr (Theobald)r Ficalbia minima Notes on new records Malaya ge nurostris Leicesterr Mansonia (Mansonoides) annulifu ra (Theobald) Of the 64 species recorded, 25 species have been Ma. (Man.) uniformis (Theobald) collected for the first time in Pondicherry. For each Mimomyia (Etorleptiomyia) luzonensis (Ludlow)' new record, locality of collection, the larval habitat (Mimomyia) Mi. chambe rlaini Ludlow and its