Mosquitoes Associated with Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) in Southeastern Florida

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Abstract
Emergence traps monitored weekly for 3 yr were used to describe the mosquito fauna associated with water lettuce and their abundances and phenology in a drainage canal and a borrow pit in St. Lucie County, Florida. Mansonia dyari, M. titillans and Culex erraticus accounted for, respectively, 89.7%, 6.2% and 1.5% of 45,932 adult specimens identified. Eleven other mosquito species were regarded as incidental [C. nigripalpus, Anopheles crucians, Coquillettidia perturbans, Uranotaenia lowii, U. sapphirina, Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Aedes taeniorhynchus, A. sollicitans, A. atlanticus, Culex salinarius and Psorophora columbiae]. Spring emergences of M. dyari and M. titillans were followed by several overlapping generations between May and Dec. A decrease in emergence of these species during Jan. and Feb. was associated with colder water temperatures and plant mortality. The proportions of M. dyari and M. titillans emerging in traps and occurring as larvae on water lettuce roots were similar, but females of the latter species were captured relatively more often at a blood source.