Comparison of mosquito (Diptera : Culicidae) fauna characteristics of forested wetlands in Sweden

We studied mosquito faunas of four wetlands from northern to southern Swede n by trapping female mosquitoes in June, July, and August. A total of 52,29 8 individuals comprising 32 species in five genera were identified. The num ber of species increased from 10 and 12 in the two northern wetlands, to 16 in the central Sweden study area to 24 in the wetland in southern Sweden. or a further characterization of mosquito fauna diversity, we organized all species recorded from Sweden into 14 functional groups based on biological and life history characteristics. The number of groups increased from thre e in the two northern study areas, to eight in central Sweden and 13 in the southernmost study area. All functional groups present at one site were al so present at the sites located farther south, Most successful species were univoltine, respiring from the water surface, laying their eggs on soil, o verwintering in the egg stage, preferring forested or partly forested habit ants, and having mammals as hosts for blood meals. The mosquito faunas of t he two northern study areas were similar and lacked several of the function al groups occurring further south. The mosquito fauna of the study area in central Sweden included species feeding on I,birds and with overwhelming la rvae In the southernmost study area, 13 out of 14 functional groups were fo und, indicating a large variety of habitats. Our results demonstrated a sou thward increase in the number of both mosquito species and functional group s in forested wetlands.