Dr. Murai Éva szerk.: Parasitologia Hungarica 23. (Budapest, 1990)

Parasit, hung. 23. 1990 Host feeding pattern of some mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) collected in animal houses in Hungary Dr. János DEZSŐ * Parasitological and Zoological Department, University of Veterinary Science, Budapest, Hungary "Host feeding pattern of some mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) collected in animal houses in Hungary" - Dezső, J. - Parasit, hung., 23: 65-82. 1990. ABSTRACT. Until quite recently no Hungarian data were available .on the host feeding patterns of Hungarian mosquito species of public and animal health importance. I tried to remedy this deficiency by determining the host origin of blood meals extracted from 379 out of 789 specimens of 9 mosquito species collected in different stables and other animal houses in Hungary. The three species belonging to the Anopheles maculipennis species group have not been differentiated in Hungary since the works of MIHÁLYI. In this study, the scale index method proved suitable for this purpose. However, it required circumstantial examination which could not be done on all specimens. Therefore, only a combined name was given to this species group. It has been proved that the knowledge of the species identify of mosquitoes alone does not permit to draw conclusions on whether the mosquitoes have fed on the domestic animal species kept in the place of collection or on some other species. No host preference restricted to a single species could be demonstrated in this study. With the exception of two species, all mosquito species examined were shown to feed on more than one host species. This shows the enormously important role of mosquitoes in spreading agents pathogenic to several host species. KEY WORDS. Diptera, Culicidae, mosquitoes, host feeding pattern, blood meal, animal houses. Numerous papers have been published in the scientific literature on the feeding patterns and vector role of mosquitoes. The proportion of European works is, however, very low. In Hungary only faunistic, autecological and mosquito control studies have been done. The host feeding patterns of mosquitoes sucking blood from domestic animals have not been investigated in Hungary at all. This work is the first step in that direction. The aim of the work presented here was to collect mosquitoes in stables and different animal houses, to determine the species composition of the mosquito population, and to identify the origin of mosquito blood meals by a precipitin test, in order to answer the following questions: # At the time of the studies a graduate student preparing his thesis for the Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree