Spotters in "Environment and Health: Mosquitoes- Culex" for CFM & MPH students
Also known as "nuisance mosquitoes". Culex fatigans is a vector of Bancroftian filariasis in India. It breeds profusely in dirty water collections e.g. stagnant drains, cesspools, septic tanks, burrow pits, & in fact all types of water collections.
- Lays eggs in small clusters or rafts.
- Each raft contains 100-250 eggs.
- Eggs are oval-shaped.
- The eggs do not possess lateral floats.
- Suspended in water with their heads downwards.
- Possess a siphon tube, situated on the 8th abdominal segment.
- No palmate hairs.
- This stage lasts for 5-7 days.
- Comma shaped in appearance, with a large rounded cephalothorax & a narrow abdomen.
- The Siphon tube is long & narrow.
- It represents the resting stage.
- A strong winged mosquito & can fly up to 11 km in rural areas.
- Highly anthrophillic.
- When at rest, the body exhibits a hunch back & the body stands almost .
- Wings unspotted.
- Palpi short in females.
- Enters the house at dusk & reaches maximum density by midnight which is peak bitting time.
- Legs are preferred for bitting.
- During the day, it may be seen resting indoors on walls, underneath furniture, inside empty pots, & in dark corners.
Public Health Importance:
- Bancroftian filariasis
- Japanese encephalitis
- West Nile fever
- Viral Arthritis (Epidemic / Polyarthritis)
- Park, K. (2019). Park's textbook of preventive and social medicine. 25th. Jabalpur, India: M/S Banarsidas Bhanot.
- Kadri AM. (2019). IAPSM's Textbook of Community Medicine. 1st. New Delhi, India: Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) Ltd.
- https://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/about/life-cycles/culex.html photo credit
- https://www.majordifferences.com/2013/10/difference-between-anopheles-and-vs.html#.X92QXXczbIU photo credit
- https://onlinesciencenotes.com/differences-anopheles-culex/ photo credit
- https://pixnio.com/fauna-animals/insects-and-bugs/mosquito/enlarged-view-of-a-culex-quinquefasciatus-mosquito-pupa photo credit
- http://medent.usyd.edu.au/arbovirus/mosquit/photos/mosquitophotos_culex.htm photo credit
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culex photo credit