Crepuscular period is one of the factors that may influence the biting activity of mosquitoes. Many of these insects have a peak activity in this period. The purpose of this study was to investigate the afternoon crepuscular activity of Culicidae in a remaining area of Atlantic Forest in western Santa Catarina, southern Brazil. Moreover, the possible influence of abiotic factors, the abundance and species richness were verified. In order to better analyze the influence of crepuscular period in specific composition and abundance of mosquitoes, the dusk was divided into three periods: pre-sunset, sunset and post-sunset. At the end of the study, nine hundred and eight four specimens distributed in 12 genera and 23 species were collected. Trichoprosopon pallidiventer (Lutz, 1905) (59.76%), Aedes crinifer (Theobald, 1903) (8.13%), Ae. scapularis (Rondani, 1848) (5.89%) were the most abundant species. Spring time presented the greatest abundance and species richness. During the study, among the three periods evaluated, pre-sunset had the greatest abundance and post-sunset the lowest. Pre-sunset and sunset had the greatest similarity between species. Regarding to the abiotic factors evaluated seven and 15 days before sampling, they did not present significant correlation for the three most abundant species. However, temperature had a positive correlation to these species. Moreover, the correlation between collected species and its possible role as vectors of etiological agents of diseases was discussed.Keywords: abiotic factors, Culicidae, Diptera, Hematophagy, Santa Catarina state. Mosquitos (Diptera

Surveys to discover the habitats of mosquito species (Diptera: Culicidae) are useful for understanding their distribution, seasonality activity patterns, ecological interactions and the risk they pose for disease transmission. Therefore, in this study, we conducted a 1 year survey of mosquito species and analysed the seasonality and daily rhythms of four species found in a forest fragment from Southern Brazil. Collections were performed during the morning, afternoon, and evening, from October 2012 to September 2013. The most abundant species were Psorophora ferox, Aedes crinifer and Coquillettidia venezuelensis. Ae. crinifer was collected during all seasons, exhibiting diurnal and nocturnal activity in all seasons, except summer. Cq. venezuelensis was collected only in spring and summer and was primarily nocturnal. Haemagogus leucocelaenus, which transmits the Yellow Fever virus, was collected in spring, summer, and autumn; this species was primarily diurnal and was more active in the afternoon. Ps. ferox was collected in spring, summer and autumn and was primarily diurnal. Despite the low abundance of mosquito species at our study site, we consider that the knowledge about Culicidae fauna was improved, mainly regarding their biology. We provide new data about mosquito species in a specific area in Southern Brazil, which was once known to record deaths of non-human primates, a phenomenon that may be directly related to the presence of wild yellow fever vector mosquitoes.

Considering the importance of Culicidae species to public health, this study aimed to update and provide better understanding of the mosquito fauna in an Atlantic Forest preservation area in Paranaguá, Paraná State, Southern Brazil. This was achieved via a mosquito survey with a subsequent analysis of the impact of abiotic factors on the composition of the mosquito community. A total of 1641 culicid specimens of 42 species and 10 genera were identified. The most abundant taxa were Aedes serratus/nubilus, Psorophora ferox and Anopheles cruzii, the latter being the main vector of malaria in the Atlantic Forest. Culex abonnenci, a species that had not yet been recorded in Paraná State, was also identified. Rainfall and temperature were found to have a high influence on some species, such as Aedes hortator, Ps. ferox and An. cruzii. This study demonstrates that performing new studies in already researched regions is relevant, as new species may be recorded. In addition, analysing the effects of abiotic factors on mosquito species is important to understand how climate change influences the composition of species in certain areas and therefore impacts the dynamics of diseases propagated by insect vectors.

Resumo.No presente trabalho é apresentada uma lista de 1328 espécies de insetos observadas no oeste do Estado de Santa Catarina nas últimas oito décadas, sendo que esta riqueza de espécies equivale a 1,47% do total de espécies registradas no Brasil. Foram compilados, em diversas coleções, os registros de exemplares coletados por F. Plaumann, foi consultada a literatura, e, além disso, foram feitas observações pessoais. Das 17 ordens registradas, Hymenoptera foi a que apresentou a maior riqueza de espécies, com 382, sendo que, a família Formicidae representou 48,42% das espécies desta ordem e Apidae 19%. Em Coleoptera foram registradas 230 espécies, com Curculionidae representando 22,60% desse total e Coccinelidae 19,13%. Na ordem Lepidoptera foram 199 espécies, a família Nymphalidae representou 37,18% dessa riqueza e Saturniidae 22,11%. total registrado para o Brasil, mas, trata-se de uma etapa importante para ampliar os conhecimentos sobre a distribuição geográfica destas espécies.Palavras-chave: Distribuição geográfica; Insecta; Lista de espécies; Riqueza. Entomofauna from West of Santa Catarina State, South of BrazilAbstract. In this study is presented a list of 1328 insect species observed in west of Santa Catarina State, Brazil, in the last eight decades. The species richness founds corresponds 1.47 % of the total of species registered in Brazil. The data set was compiled from collection records performed by F. Plaumann, in addition to the records from literature and personal observations. Here, we recorded a total of 17 orders of insects. The order Hymenoptera had greatest richness with 382 species. Within Hymenoptera, the family Formicidae represented 48.42% and Apidae, 19%. In order Coleoptera, we found 230 species, with Curculionidae representing 22.60% of this total and Coccinelidae 19.13%. On the order Lepidoptera we recorded 199 species, the Nymphalidae family represented 37.18% of this richness and Saturniidae, 22.11%. The species richness presented here is minimal when compared to the total recorded for Brazil, but it is an important step to improve the knowledge about the geographic distribution of these insects.

In this study, a total of 4146 culicids collected in an Atlantic Forest area in Paraná state, southern Brazil were examined for the presence of mites. Forty larval Parasitengone mites (Arrenurus spp., Arrenuridae; Durenia spp., Trombellidae; Microtrombidium spp., Microtrombidiidae) parasitized 25 specimens of mosquitoes, with the intensity varying from one to nine mites attached. Most mites were found on Aedes serratus/nubilus, Culex vomerifer, Cx. pedroi and Cx. sacchettae. The overall percentage of parasitized mosquitoes was 0.6 %. The highest intensity of mites encountered was in an individual of Cx. pedroi with nine attached mites. Regarding the attachment site, most mite specimens were attached to the abdomen (n = 25), whereas 15 were located on the thorax. Specimens of Arrenurus spp. were only found on the abdomen of mosquitoes, and the same was observed for Microtrombidium spp., while Durenia spp. attached to both the thorax (n = 15) and abdomen (n = 4). This is the first record for the genus Durenia in Brazil. Additionally, some species of mosquitoes were, for the first time, reported as being parasitized by mites.

Knowing which habitats (e.g. forest interiors or edges) are used by mosquitos and their relationship with possible environmental changes can assist in the development of public policies for the prevention of mosquito‐borne disease epidemics. This study assessed the influence of abiotic factors and vegetation structure on a mosquito community in an Atlantic rainforest remnant frequented by humans. Biting mosquito collections were undertaken by two operators and carried out every 2 weeks between October 2014 and October 2015, during the afternoon, at three points within the forest: A1 (40 m from the edge), A2 (220 m from the edge) and A3 (270 m from the edge). A significant difference was found between tree circumference at breast height from the different areas, as well as in tree height. However, no significant difference in the analysed abiotic factors between areas was observed. The paired comparison of mosquito abundance between the sample areas indicated that area A3 was different from area A1. Additionally, the abundance of the analysed species (Aedes crinifer, Aedes scapularis, Aedes serratus, Psorophora ferox, Sabethes aurescens, Sabethes identicus, Trichoprosopon pallidiventer and Wyeomyia limai) increased with distance from the forest edge. This observation may suggest that the abundance of certain species may be indicative of the level of disturbance of a forest.

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In Brazil hydrographic basins are geographical unities used to environmental and hydric resources management, but few studies focus in the biodiversity variation within these unities. Here we present the results of spatial variation of aquatic insects in streams of a hydrographic basin in Southern Brazil. The insect composition was analyzed in relation to abundance of the families, functional trophic group and environmental evaluation indexes proposed by literature. The insects had a heterogeneous distribution in the sampling areas of the hydrographic basin. The most abundant families were Hydropsychidae, Philopotamidae and Leptophlebiidae, which demonstrate a good oxygenation of the water in the sampling streams. The most abundant functional trophic groups were gatherer-collector (20%) and scraper (18.92%). The indexes demonstrated the riverbeds of the streams are stable, with a high presence of fine particulate organic matter and they were considered heterotrophic. However, they also indicated a low abundance of shredders, which may be related to poor environmental conditions in the riparian forests. Therefore, here we found spatial variation of aquatic insects and indexes performed indicated the main human impacts as deforestation and inadequate land use. The data obtained also contributed to reinforce the importance of hydrographic basin as geographical unities for environmental conservation.