Species info
Classification > Subfamily Culicinae > Tribe Culicini > Genus Culex > Subgenus Phytotelmatomyia
Culex castroi Casal and García, 1967
Head of the larva of Culex castroi (Photo: Stein et al. 2018).
Head of the larva of Culex castroi (Photo: Stein et al. 2018).
Head of the larva of Culex castroi (Photo: Stein et al. 2018).
Thorax and detail of pecten spine of the larva of Culex castroi (Photo: Stein et al. 2018). PS: pecten spine.
Thorax and detail of pecten spine of the larva of Culex castroi (Photo: Stein et al. 2018). PS: pecten spine.
Larvae of Culex castroi. 1. Thorax and first six abdominal segments; 2. Dorsomentum; 3. Head; 4. Comb scales; 5. Pecten spines; 6. Abdominal segments VII - X (Photo: Casal & García, 1967).
Larvae of Culex castroi. 1. Thorax and first six abdominal segments; 2. Dorsomentum; 3. Head; 4. Comb scales; 5. Pecten spines; 6. Abdominal segments VII - X (Photo: Casal & García, 1967).
Pupa and male genitalia of Culex castroi. 7. Cephalothorax; 8. Metanotum and abdomen; 9. Subapical lobe of the gonocoxite and gonostylus; 10. Tergum IX and lateral plate ( (Photo: Casal & García, 1967).
Pupa and male genitalia of Culex castroi. 7. Cephalothorax; 8. Metanotum and abdomen; 9. Subapical lobe of the gonocoxite and gonostylus; 10. Tergum IX and lateral plate ( (Photo: Casal & García, 1967).
Eryngium horridum, host plant of the immature stages of Culex castroi (a. general view, b. rosette, c. axils with water) (Photo: R. E. Campos)
Eryngium horridum, host plant of the immature stages of Culex castroi (a. general view, b. rosette, c. axils with water) (Photo: R. E. Campos)
 
Geographic distribution
Distribution
Record
  • Argentina
    • Buenos Aires
    • Chaco
    • Corrientes
    • Entre Ríos
    • Misiones
    • Río Negro
Record
  • Uruguay
Other distribution
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda.
 
Synonyms
  • Sin registros/no records .
Observations
Type locality: Canal 6 and Paraná de las Plamas, Estación Agropecuaria Delta del INTA, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 30F, 37M, 1P, 163L, 26 lpAd, García & Casal.
Disease relations: unknown
Habitat and breeding sites
Larvae and pupae were collected from the axils of Eryngium species (Apiaceae) associated with larvae of Culex renatoi and Culex hepperi (Campos et al., 2011) and Alocasia macrorrhiza in northeastern provinces of Argentina (Alvarez et al. 2024).
Pupae have been collected in all seasons, even in the middle of winter, so it could be inferred that there is no winter diapause.
Links
References
  • CASAL, O. H., GARCÍA, M. 1967a. Culex (Culex) castroi nueva especie de la República Argentina (Diptera, Culicidae). Physis, Buenos Aires 26 (73): 451-457.
  • BELKIN, J. N., SCHICK, R. X., HEINEMANN, S. 1968. Mosquito studies (Diptera, Culicidae). XI. Mosquitoes originally described from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Contribution of the American Entomological Institute 4 (1): 9-29.
  • KNIGHT, K. L., STONE, A. 1977. A catalog of the mosquitoes of the world (Diptera: Culicidae), 2nd ed. Thomas Say Foundation, Entomological Society of American 6: 1-611.
  • BALSEIRO, E. G. 1983. Observaciones sobre la selectividad de áreas de postura en una población local de Culex castroi Casal y García (Diptera, Culicidae). Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina 42: 125-130.
  • 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.
  • CAMPOS, R. E., LOUNIBOS, L. P. 1999. Eryngium spp. (Umbelliferae) as phytotelmata and their Culex (Culex) inhabitants in temperate Argentina. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 15 (4): 493-499.
  • ROSSI, G. C., MARTÍNEZ, M. 2003. Mosquitos (Diptera: Culicidae) del Uruguay. Entomología y Vectores 10: 469-478.
  • ROSSI, G. C., HARBACH, R. E. 2008. Phytotelmatomyia, a new Neotropical subgenus of Culex (Diptera: Culicidae). Zootaxa 1879: 1-17.
  • CAMPOS, R. E. 2010. Eryngium (Apiaceae) phytotelmata and their macro-invertebrate communities, including a review and bibliography. Hydrobiologia 652 (1): 311-328.
  • ROSSI, G. C. 2015. Annotated checklist, distribution, and taxonomic bibliography of the mosquitoes (Insecta: Diptera: Culicidae) of Argentina. Check List 11 (4): 1712.
  • STEIN, M., ALVAREZ, C. N., ALONSO, A. N., BANGHER, D. N., WILLENER, J. A., CAMPOS, R. E. 2018. New records of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) found in phytotelmata in Northern Argentina. Zootaxa 4399 (1): 87-100.
  • ALVAREZ, C. N., CAMPOS, R. E., STEIN, M. 2024. Phytotelmata in native and exotic plants and their mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) assemblages: Diversity and first records of plant-mosquito associations in a subtropical region of Argentina. Ecología Austral 34: 496-511. https://doi.org/10.25260/EA.24.34.3.0.2373.
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