CULICIDAE OF ITAIPU LAKE, PARANA RIVER, S OUTHERN BRAZIL

Mosquito catches were made in Guaira county, Parana State, southern Br azil, in the vicinity of Itaipu dam, from January to December 1991. Th e catches were made with a Shannon light trap and human bait. The Shan non light trap was installed beside the highway that used, formerly, t o lead to the Sete Quedas cataracts and the human bait was used in the urban area. Data about the Culicidae fauna were obtained as to predom inant species, seasonal variation, time of highest density and affinit y with human host. Forty-one species were identified as belonging to t he Anopheles, Aedes, Aedomyia, Coquillettidia, Culex, Mansonia, Psorop hora and Uranotaenia genera. With the Shannon light trap 21,280 mosqui toes were caught and with human bait 1,010. In the catches made with t he Shannon light trap, Coquillettidia shannoni, Mansonia humeralis, An opheles trianulatus, Aedes scapularis and Anopheles albitarsis account ed for 82.78% of all mosquitoes taken. In the catches made on human ba it the highest densities of these mosquitoes occurred between 7 p.m. a nd 9 p.m. Aedes scapularis, Mansonia humeralis and Anopheles albitarsi s represented 91,21% of all mosquitoes caugth with human bait. The hig hest densities of Aedes scapularis, on human bait, were found between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. and those of Mansonia humeralis and Anopheles albita rsis between 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. Among the genera caught with the Shanno n ligth trap Coquillettidia shannoni, Mansonia humeralis and Anopheles albitarsis were most frequent in April, Anopheles triannulatus in Jan uary and Aedes scapularis in February.