Culex mollis Dyar and Knab, 1906
Larval exuviae of Culex mollis (Photo: M. Laurito).
Geographic distribution
Distribution
Record
- Argentina
- Buenos Aires
- Chaco
- Córdoba
- Corrientes
- Entre Ríos
- Formosa
- La Pampa
- Misiones
- Tucumán
- Uruguay
Other distribution
Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Venezuela.
- elocutilis Dyar and Knab
- equivocator Dyar and Knab Dyar and Knab
- lateropunctata Theobald
- lepostenis Dyar
- tisseuli Senevet
Not recorderd from Argentina by Knight & Stone (1997) (Mitchell & Darsie, 1985). The records of Culex mollis in different provinces should
be reviewed, given that species’ similarity to Culex tatoi (Rossi, 2015).
Disease relations: Specimens of Culex mollis were found naturally infected with the Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis virus during 2005-2006 in Tucumán Province, Argentina (Pisano et al., 2010b). Specimens of the species naturally infected with Saint Louis Encephalitis virus were detected in agroecosystems of northeastern La Pampa Province, Argentina (Mansilla et al., 2026).
be reviewed, given that species’ similarity to Culex tatoi (Rossi, 2015).
Disease relations: Specimens of Culex mollis were found naturally infected with the Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis virus during 2005-2006 in Tucumán Province, Argentina (Pisano et al., 2010b). Specimens of the species naturally infected with Saint Louis Encephalitis virus were detected in agroecosystems of northeastern La Pampa Province, Argentina (Mansilla et al., 2026).
Larvae of Culex mollis are primarily found in natural containers (holes in trees or rocks).
- BIANCHINI, N., BIANCHINI, J. P., ASTEGIANO, M. 1965 (1967). Especies de mosquitos de la provincia de Córdoba (Diptera, Culicidae). Segundas Jornadas Entomoepidemiológicas Argentinas 2: 191-194.
- BRAM, R. A. 1967. Classification of Culex subgenus Culex in the New World (Diptera: Culicidae). Proceedings of the United States National Museum 120 (3557): 1-122
- MITCHELL, C. J., DARSIE, R. F. JR. 1985. Mosquitoes of Argentina. Part II. Geographic distribution and bibliography (Diptera, Culicidae). Mosquito Systematics 17 (4): 279-362.
- CAMPOS, R. E., MACIÁ, A. 1998. Culicidae. Cap. 28. En Morrone, J. J. & Coscarón, S. (Eds.) Biodiversidad de Artrópodos Argentinos: Una pespectiva biotaxonómica. (pp. 291-303). La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina: Ediciones Sur.
- ROSSI, G. C., MARTÍNEZ, M. 2013. Lista de especies y clave ilustrada para la identificación de larvas de mosquitos (Diptera: Culicidae) halladas criando en recipientes artificiales en Uruguay. Boletín de la Sociedad Zoológica del Uruguay (2ª época) 22 (2): 49-65.
- LAURITO, M., ALMIRÓN, W. R., LUDUEÑA ALMEIDA, F. F. 2015. Discrimination of four Culex (Culex) species from the Neotropics based on geometric morphometrics. Zoomorphology. doi 10.1007/s00435-015-0271-x.
- ROSSI, G. C. 2015. Annotated checklist, distribution, and taxonomic bibliography of the mosquitoes (Insecta: Diptera: Culicidae) of Argentina. Check List 11 (4): 1712.
- MANSILLA, A. P., LAURITO, M., FARÍAS, A. A., DÍAZ, A. 2026. Ecological drivers of St. Louis encephalitis virus activity in mosquito communities from Argentine agroecosystems. Medical and Veterinary Entomology. DOI: 10.1111/mve.70066
