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

Table 3 shows the distribution of mosquitoes by stable or animal house, and points out cases in which the blood meal was derived from an animal species other than that kept in the given stable (host species). Table 4 shows the composition of the so-called mixed blood meal and its occurrence by mosquito species. DISCUSSION In this work, mosquito specimens belonging to 9 species were found in the various animal houses. During the differentiation of species belonging to the Anopheles maculipennis species group it was revealed that the Tj radial vein scale index of Hungarian mosquito species was lower than the values published in KRAMÁR's book. I identified only 20 specimens of each species. To determine the Hungarian mean and extreme values of the scale index, scales from females that have laid eggs would have to be measured; this would be possible only in studies the aim of which is different from mine. Identification of the blood meals by agar gel diffusion precipitin technique (Table 1) has led me to the conclusion that mosquitoes collected in a given stable fed not only on the animal species kept there. Consequently, species identification of the mosquitoes alone is not sufficient to decide whether a blood meal derives from the animal species kept in the given stable. No host preference restricted to a single species could be found for any of the mosquito species examined in this study. The lack of negative reactions can be explained either by the digested state of the blood meal or by the fact that the blood meal came from some host species other than the 6 species included in my study. Further studies are needed to determine what host species the mosquitoes sucked blood from. Representatives of the Anopheles maculipennis species group were found at all collection sites. They occurred in the largest number in pigsties where 59 % and 12.8 % of them contained pig blood and bovine blood, respectively. They fed on all host species studied except poultry. Culiseta annulata occurred in all animal houses except the rabbit house and fed on all domestic animal species examined except poultry. On the basis of my data C. annulata seems to prefer bovine, porcine and rabbit blood. It is remarkable that mosquitoes collected in a cow barn at Apaj more often contained porcine than bovine blood (even though the nearest pig house was 500 meters from the cow farm). I found the species Aedes caspius, which breeds in alkali waters, only at Apaj, in a cow barn. In its blood meal porcine and bovine blood was identified most frequently. All specimens caught in the cow barn contained porcine blood except one which gave negative reaction. Aedes caspius is the only mosquito species in which the blood of all host species including poultry (!) was identified. Aedes sticticus occurred in the houses of all domestic animal species. In the largest number it was found in horse stables where the proportion of specimens not containing blood exceeded 90 %. With the exception of poultry, its blood sucking from all host species studied by me was proved.