Belize, formerly known as British Honduras, is bordered on the north by Mexico, on the west and south by Guatemala, and on the east by the Carib- bean Sea.
Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, 18(4):241-276, 2002 Copyright ¸ 2002 by the American Mosquito Control Association,Inc.
MOSQUITO
STUDIES IN BELIZE, CENTRAL
TAXONOMIC
NOTES,
AND
AMERICA:
A CHECKLIST
OF SPECIES
JAMES E. PECOR, 2 RALPH E. HARBACH, • E. L. PEYTON, TMDONALD ELISKA
REJMANKOVA,
• SYLVIE
MANGUIN
RECORDS,
R. ROBERTS, 5
•.7 ^ND JORGE PALANKO
s
ABSTRACT Data I¾ommosquitocollectionsmadein Belize, CentralAmerica,betweenSeptember1990 and
April 1993 are presented. A total of 537 collectionsyielding15,139specimens are summarized. One genus,4 subgenera,and 31 speciesare recordedfrom Belize for the 1st time. A checklistof the 111 mosquitospecies now known to occur in Belize is presented. KEY WORDS
Culicidae, mosquitoes,checklist, Belize, distribution,bionomics
INTRODUCTION
on the mosquito fauna from Central America; how-
This report summarizes information obtained during extensivemosquito surveys in Belize, Central America, conducted between September 1990 and April 1993. The surveys were conductedas a collaborative project between the Department of Entomology, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research,Silver Spring, MD; the Division of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, Uniformed Services
University of the Health Sciences,Bethesda,MD; and the Ministry of Health, Belize City, Belize. The objectiveswere to provide baseline ecological and faunistic data to supportlong-term ecological studies of malaria vectorsin the coastalregions of Central America and to obtain taxonomicspecimensfor comparative morphological studies. Belize, formerly known as British Honduras, is bordered on the north by Mexico, on the west and south by Guatemala, and on the east by the Caribbean Sea. With a land area of approximately22,969 km2 (8,866 mi2), Belize has the lowest population density of any country in Central America. Belize is divided into 6 districts: Belize, Cayo, Corozal, Orange Walk, Sthnn Creek, and Toledo. Elevation ranges from sea level to 1,122 m, with most of the
land area below 500 m. The climate is generally warm tropical, with yearly rainfall from 1,200 to 3,800 mm (Hartshorn et al. 1984). Several comprehensivereports have been made
• The views of the authors do not purport to reflect the views of the Department of Defense. 2Department of Entomology,Walter Reed Army Institute of Research,Silver Spring, MD 20910-7500. • Department of Entomology,The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, United King-
ever, few
studies have been conducted
in Belize
(Ward 1982). Early reports on the mosquito fauna in Belize include those of Komp (1940a, 1940b), which 1st documented the presence of Anopheles darlingi Root in Central America; Kumm and Ram
(1941), which summarizeddata on the biology, distribution, and sporozoiteinfection rates of 6 anopheline species; and Galindo and Trapido (1967), which described Haemagogus aeritinctus based on specimenscollected in mangrove swamps in northern Belize. Bertram (1971) conducted the most extensive study of the mosquito fauna in Belize, and provided a detailed summary of the biology, ecology, and distribution for 65 species encountered during arboviral studies in 1967. A small voucher
seriesfrom this study, consistingof approximately 300 adults (none with associatedlarval or pupal exuviae) subsequentlywas examined and reported on by Heinemann and Belkin (1977). Additional notations on the mosquito fauna in Belize also have been included as part of wider regional faunistic or revisionary studies, including Theobald (1901a, 190lb), Howard et al. (1917), Martini (1935), Schick (1970a, 1970b), Zavortink (1972), Strickman and Pratt (1989), and Wilkerson and Strickman (1990). At the start of this study, 80 speciesrepresenting 18 genera were known in the fauna
of Belize.
Selectedspecimensaccumulatedduring our surveys have been included in reports on the biology, taxonomy, and genetics for certain species of Anopheles Meigen. Rejmankova et al. (1993) sum-
marized the ecology and distribution of larval Anopheles in northern Belize; Roberts et al. (1993) presented preliminary data on malaria vectors in dom. southern Belize; Harbach et al. (1993) examined 4 Deceased. •Department of Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, morphologicalvariation of adult An. darlingi; ManUniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, guin et al. (1995, 1996b) provided a biological and Bethesda, MD 20814. biochemical evaluation of populationsof Anopheles 6Department of Environmental Science and Policy, pseudopunctipennis Theobald; Manguin et al. University of California, Davis, CA 95616. (1996a) characterized larval habitats of An. darlin7Present address:CBGP-IRD, 911 Avenue Agropolis, gi; and Manguin et al. (1999) examined population BP 5045, 34032 Montpellier Cedex 1, France. sEpidemiologic ResearchCenter, Belize City, Belize, structures of An. darlingi in Central and South Central
America.
America. 241
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Mosquito Studies in Belize, Central America: Records, Taxonomic Notes, and a Checklist of Species
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JOURNALOF THE AMERICAN MOSQUITO CONTROL ASSOCIATION MATERIALS
AND
lections
METHODS
Emphasis was placed on the collection of larvae with the intention of obtaining adults with associated larval and pupal exuviae. Surveys were conducted during both the wet and dry seasons. Although the primary goal of the field studies was to survey and characterize anopheline habitats, larvae and pupae were collected from all habitat types encountered. Collections were conducted during the wet seasonin 1990, 1992, and 1993, and during the dry seasonin 1991. Data from each collection were recorded on standard forms (Faran et al. 1985). Fourth-stage larvae and pupae were individually reared to the adult stage and associated immature exuviae were preserved in 80% ethanol. Fourthstagelarvae also were preservedfrom as many species as possible. Adults were killed in ethyl acetate vapor and mounted on points on pins. Immature stages were subsequentlymounted in euparal on microscope slides. Male genitalia were dissected when necessary to assist identification. Specimens were identified to species by using the most recent keys, descriptions,and revisionary studiesavailable (see taxonomic notes for individual
references).
made
VOL. 18, No. 4
in the southernmost
district
of Toledo
(BHZ 365-516) were conducted during the wet seasonof August-September 1992. Additional miscellaneous collections (BHZ 517-537) were made by various investigators between September 1992 and May 1993. Detailed descriptions of the 537 collections are given in Appendix 1. The collections yielded a total of 15,139 specimens, including 5,586 adults, 3,070 larval exuviae, 5,269 pupal exuviae, 704 larvae, and 510 slide preparations of adult genitalia, representing 90 species from 17 genera and 26 subgenera. One genus, 4 subgenera,and 31 speciesare new occurrence records for Belize. Twenty-one species not encountered during our field studies were previously recorded from Belize. Thus, the total number of speciesnow known to occur in the country is 111 (Table 2). The distribution for the 90 species collected in Belize during our surveys is summarized by collection number and district in Appendix 2. Taxonomic notes for 32 species are provided below. The notes summarize new distribution records, species associations,ecological and locality data, and undescribed life stages encountered.
Abbreviations
used
in the taxonomic
notes
The anatomical terminology used below follows include M, male; E female; Pe, pupal exuviae; Le, that of Harbach and Knight (1980). Changes made to the generic and subgeneric larval exuviae; L, larva; and Mg, male genitalia. classification of Culicidae since the publication of Taxonomic authorities and complete scientific names are given in Table 2. A Catalog of the Mosquitoes of the World (Knight Specimens obtained during the field studies are and Stone 1977) and its supplements(Knight 1978; Ward 1984, 1992; Gaffigan and Ward 1985) that deposited at the Department of Entomology, Naapply to the mosquito fauna of Belize are followed tional Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Smithhere. These include the description of Phenacomyia sonian Institution, Washington, DC. as a new subgenusof Culex Linnaeus (Harbach and Peyton 1992), elevation of Isostomyia Coquillett to TAXONOMIC NOTES generic rank from subgenericstatuswithin Runchomyia Theobald (Harbach and Peyton 1993), redefCulex (Aneodioporpa) restrictor Dyar and Knab inition of subgenusDendromyia Theobald of Wyeomyia Theobald that left several species without This is a new occurrence record for Belize. The subgeneric placement (Motta and Louren9o-de- speciescan be readily separated(in all stages)from Oliveira 1995), resurrection of Hystatomyia Dyar other members of the subgenusAneodioporpa by as a subgenusof Wyeomyia (Judd 1998), separation using the keys provided by Berlin and Belkin of genus Ochlerotatus Lynch Arribalzaga (along (1980). Its known distribution is from Mexico to with various subgenera) from Aedes Meigen (ReVenezuela. We collected larvae of Cx. restrictor inert 2000), and recognition of Deinocerites Theofrom a bamboo stump and artificial containers. Spebald as a subgenus of Culex (Navarro and Liria cies collected in associationwith this speciesinclude 2000). Abbreviations for generic and subgeneric names are those of Reinert (2001). RESULTS
AND
Oc. (How.)cozumelensis, Tx. (Lyn.) theobaMi, Wy. aporonoma, and Wy. (Wyo.) celaenocephala. Material examined: 17 M, 14 F, 29 Le, 31 Pe, and 4 Mg.
DISCUSSION
A total of 537 collections (designated BHZ1537) was made between September 1990 and May 1993, including 480 (89%) larval, 26 (
