Observations on the Feeding Habits of Culex Tarsalis in Kern County, California, Using Precipitating Antisera Produced in Birds

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Abstract
Summary Precipitating antisera with a high degree of specificity to mammalian and avian bloods were utilized in the study of 3,310 blood-engorged Culex tarsalis collected in Kern County, California. In the summer, 84.4 percent of feedings were on birds, including chickens, doves, and passerine species; and 13.9 percent of feedings were on mammals, including cattle, dog, horse, rabbit, and cat. In the winter, the proportion of feedings on birds increased, particularly on passerine species, with a concomitant decrease in feedings on mammals and doves. There was a very low proportion of nonreacting samples and few double feedings on different host species. Correlation of these data with epidemiologic and biologic data offers a clarification of the possible over-wintering reservoirs of arthropod-borne viruses and indicates the need for further studies on the influence of availability of various host species in a habitat as a controlling factor on the feeding habits of C. tarsalis.