HUMAN HOST-SEEKING ACTIVITY OF ABUNDANT MOSQUITO SPECIES (DIPTERA, CULICIDAE) IN SOUTH-WESTERN SLOVAKIA

Mosquitoes were collected at two different sites - the edge of an alde r wood and the adjacent meadow in the area of Jursky Sur east of Brati slava (southwestern Slovakia). Collection was carried out from dawn to dusk by a battery operated aspirator from June to October, 1993. Seas onal changes in the attack rate with and without supplementary CO2 on Aedes cantans, Ae. vexans, Ae. cinereus and Mansonia richiardii were a nalysed. During 426 ten-minute collections, 9,076 mosquitoes belonging to 5 genera and 18 species were identified. In total, 1,712 Ae. canta ns (of which 83% were collected using supplementary CO2), 5,654 Ae. ve xans (84% with CO2), 1,346 Ae. cinereus (71% with CO2) and 97 Ma. rich iardii mosquitoes (70% with CO2) were collected while attacking the hu man body. The observed peaks of activity were for Ae. cantans at the e nd of June, for Ae. vexans at the end of July, for Ae, cinereus at the end of June and at the beginning of August, and for Ma. richiardii at the end of July.