New State Records of Mosquitoes for Colorado

Abstract

The 1967 treatment of the Mosquitoes of Colorado by Harmston and Lawson and subsequent publications have recorded 46 culicid species from Colorado. As part of a study to create an updated synopsis of the mosquitoes of Colorado, adult trapping at numerous localities was conducted in Colorado during the summers of 2013 and 2014. This review also included an examination of mosquito specimens in various relevant museum collections. Aedes (Ochlerotatus) niphadopsis and Ae. (Och.) spencerii spencerii were collected during the 2013 and 2014 field seasons. Records for Ae. (Och.) canadensis canadensis, Ae. (Stegomyia) aegypti, and Uranotaenia (Pseudoficalbia) anhydor syntheta were obtained from examination of museum specimens. These species constitute new state records for Colorado, with 51 species now known from the state.

New County Records of Aedes aegypti and Aedes epactius in Colorado

“…Aedes aegypti is not native to the state of Colorado and prior to this study it had only been detected once in this state: in specimens collected from Pueblo County in southern Colorado in 2010 (Rose et al 2015) (Fig. 1).…”

“…aegypti was reared from an egg collected in La Junta, is the 2nd detection of Ae. aegypti in southern Colorado in 7 years, and the 1st detection of this species in Otero County (Rose et al 2015;Hahn et al 2016Hahn et al , 2017. We do not know if there are established populations of Ae.…”

“…Established populations of Ae. aegypti are not known to exist in Colorado; the detection in Pueblo County in 2010 (Rose et al 2015) was thought to be an accidental introduction and an isolated incident. However, Ae.…”