A bibliometric analysis of the Web of Science database elucidates recent trends in research on Culicidae

The family Culicidae is a medically significant group of insects. As major vectors of deadly diseases such as malaria, dengue, and Zika, mosquitoes cause hundreds of thousands of deaths globally each year. Consequently, researches on this group are of vital importance to public health and disease control. To identify leading institutions, researchers as well as research themes, and to forecast future directions in Culicidae studies, a literature search was conducted using the Web of Science Core Database with the topic query "mosquito OR Culicidae" for publications between January 1995 and May 2025. The results indicated that the top three countries in terms of publication frequency were the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. The top three institutions were the University of California System, the French National Centre for Scientific Research, and the University of Oxford, respectively. Keyword analysis revealed that Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) and Culicidae were core research subjects, and tropical medicine, parasitology as well as entomology were the primary intersecting disciplines. Research hotspots had evolved through distinct phases including an early focus on mosquito biological traits, a subsequent shift toward molecular mechanisms, and a more recent emphasis on emerging infectious diseases and the impact of climate change on mosquito distribution. Researches on Culicidae will increasingly integrate multidisciplinary approaches to elucidate vector-pathogen interactions, develop multiscale predictive models, and advance precision control technologies in response to the public health challenges posed by global warming in the future.