Ecology of mosquitoes (Diptera : Culicidae) in areas of Serra da Bocaina National Park, Brazil. I - Habitat distribution

Objective To assess the mosquito fauna in Serra da Bocaina National Park (PNSB), by c ollecting information through a general survey, and investigating the popul ation behavior in habitats within the park with different vegetation. Methods Human bait collections conduct once a month for both the forest and househo lds, in diurnal and nocturnal periods, three time a day, throughout 24 mont hs, from January 1991 to December 1992. Results A total of 11,808 adult mosquitoes belonging to 28 species were collected. Runchomyia reversa and Anopheles cruzii were the most abundant, reaching 52 .2% and 17.9% of the total collected specimens, respectively. In the dense forest, Ru. reversa comprised 59.4$ of the total, followed by Ru. frontosa with 10.5%, and An. cruzii with 9.9%. In the high altitude fields and in ga llery forest, An. cruzii was the most abundant (48.1%) followed by Ru. reve rsa (28.1%). Inside households An. cruzii was also the most prominent speci es, representing 73.7% of the total for that location. Conquillettidia chry sonotum was the only species mainly seen in the household surroundings, whe re irs distribution was: 14.9% (indoors), 19.4% (close to th house), and 65 .7% (outdoors). An. cruzii and Ru. reversa were found throughout the whole year and captured every month. Conclusions Mosquitoes in PNSB present an assynanthropic behavior, for Cq. chrysonotum which lives preferentially in the household environment. Though An. cruzii is an assynantropic species it may approaches live near households and even invades and infest them for the blood meals. The occurrence of Aedes serra tus in the household vicinity emphasizes its epidemiological important as a potential vector of arboviruses. Sabethini are all exclusively sylvatic sp ecies.