mosquitoes in neston, cheshire michael clarkson, mike service and cathy glover national centre for...
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Mosquitoes in Neston, Cheshire
Michael Clarkson, Mike Service and Cathy
GloverNational Centre for Zoonosis
Research, Liverpool Veterinary School
We are grateful to many staff atLeahurst and their families whocollected mosquitoes foridentification, often involving pain!
We thank the following for help and advice:Malcolm BennettTom HendersonChristian SetzkornStaff of the EnvironmentalProtection Unit, Ellesmere Portand Neston Borough Council
Many complaints of mosquito bites in the Neston area were received by the Local Authority in 2005 and 2006
Leahurst
River Dee tidal marsh
1 km
Dee marshes at Parkgate, Neston looking towards Wales
These tidal marshes are an internationally recognised site , being both an SSSI and an EU Special Area of Conservation They are also an excellent breeding site for Aedes detritus
Surveys were done in 2007 and 2008 by two methods – traps in gardens and mosquitoes collected by Leahurst staff recruited from our email list
The Local Authority placed traps in residents’ gardens and sixth form students at the local comprehensive school had traps in their gardens. Three different types of trap were used
Although the traps were useful for public relations, the mosquitoes collected by staff were in better condition, more numerous and more widely distributed geographically
CDC light-trap
BG-Sentinel trap
Midg-it trap
Type of Trap
Aedes detritus
Culex pipiens
Culiseta annulata
CDC light- trap
12 61 3
BG trap, no CO2
0 56 5
BG trap with CO2
150 40 5
Midg-it trap
95 28 3
Estimate of relative efficiency of traps
Map showing distribution of 3 species caught
Culex pipiens group in United Kingdom consists of three species which cannot be distinguished morphologically.
Culex pipiens and Culex torrentium feed only on birds.
Culex pipiens group mosquitoes transmit West Nile Virus in Europe and USA
Culex molestus bites mammals including humans and also occasionally birds.
Molecular methods for differentiating these species are being developed.
Mol wt markers
Mol wt markers
Cx pipiens
Ae detritus
310
194
A PCR technique described by US workers has been used to distinguish Cx pipiens group mosquitoes
These studies suggest that our mosquitoes are Cx pipiens s.s.
Cx molestus