Larval survey of tire-breeding mosquitoes in Alabama

A state-wide survey of tire-breeding mosquitoes in Alabama was conducted in 2004 and 2005. Tire sites in all 67 counties in the state of Alabama were sampled for mosquito larvae. A total of 13,022 mosquito larvae, representing 12 species in 7 genera, was collected. The most frequently collected species were Aedes albopictus (70.4%), Culex territans (8.0%), and Ochlerotatus triseriatus (7.1%). The following species were also collected: Cx. restuans (6.0%), Cx. salinarius (2.7%), Orthopodomyia signifera (2.4%), and Cx. quinquefasciatus (1.4%). Ochlerotatus atropalpus, Toxorhynchites rutilus, Anopheles punctipennis, An. quadrimaculatus, and Psorophora columbiae each represented <1.0% of the total larval collections. No Ae. aegypti or Oc. japonicus were collected from tires during this survey. The first known collection of Ps. columbiae breeding in water-filled tires is reported.