Determination of mosquito species in Istanbul, distribution and investigation of vector competence

In the study, it was aimed to determine the species and breeding areas of mosquitoes, which are one of the important vector insects, in Istanbul. The study was conducted in 27 districts of Istanbul between June 2019 and December 2020. Larvae and pupa samples were collected from 247 breeding sources belonging to 22 different habitat types. Species were determined by determining females obtained from larvae and pupae collected from mosquito breeding sources via dipper and females obtained from light traps. In the study, 13 mosquito species belonging to 4 genera were determined. Mosquito species and their occurence rates in a total of 247 breeding sources were found as Culex pipiens L. 45.4%, Aedes albopictus (Skuse) 20%, Aedes cretinus (Edwards) 9%, Anopheles maculipennis complex (except Anopheles sacharovi) 5.2% Culex territians 4%, Anopheles claviger (Meigen) 2.8%, Aedes vexans (Meigen) 2.4% Culex theileri Theobald 2.4%, Culiseta annulata (Schrank) 2%, Culex hortensis Ficalbi 1.6%, Culex modestus Ficalbi 1.6% Culex torrentium Martini 2.4%, Culiseta longiareolata (Macquart) 1.2%, Culex sp. (Diptera Culicidae). Aedes albopictus L. and Aedes cretinus (Skuse) were identified as invasive species. The most common species found in all districts were C. pipiens (28%), A. albopictus (25%) ve A. cretinus (21%). Considering their vector potential a control program should be established against Aedes species, which have become widespread in our country.