Ecology of mosquitoes in areas of the National Park of "Serra da Bocaina",Brazil. II - Monthly frequency and climatic factors

Objective To establish the influence of climatic factors on the monthly fre quency of mosquito fauna in areas of the National Park of Serra da Bocaina, Brazil. Methods Human bait collections were conducted once a month, in diurnal and nocturnal hours, throughout 24 months, from January 1991 to December 1992. Results A total of 11,808 adult mosquitoes belonging to 28 different specie s were collected. Anopheles cruzii, Runchomyia reversa, and Ru. frontosa we re the most commonly found species each month. An. cruzii was found mostly, from October to February; Ru. reversa and Ru. frontosa predominated in Sept ember An. lutzi, Chagasia fajardoi, Coquillettidia chrysonotum, Aedes serra tus, Trichoprosopon simile, Wyeomyia theobaldi, Ru. humboldti, and Ru. theo baldi are the second most prevalent species and they were found mostly thro ughout the hottest, rainiest and most humid months. Temperature and rainfal l have positively influenced the incidence of the majority of the species. Conclusions The exuberant and well-preserved tropical forest of Alata Atlan tica, rainfalls, and temperatures had a direct and significant contribution to the mosquito fauna in the park. In the months with greater rainfalls, t emperatures and humidity, there was an increase in the density and diversit y, of mosquito species. The period from September to March was the most fav orable for their proliferation. In the colder and drier period, from April to August, about 70% of the species showed a significant decline in number, and they were hardly found during these months.