DIVERSITY AND ABUNDANCE OF MOSQUITOES (DIPTERA: CULICIDAE) IN UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SABAH CAMPUS, KOTA KINABALU, SABAH, MALAYSIA

Abstract

A study on the abundance and diversity of mosquitoes (Diptera:
Culicidae) was carried out in University Malaysia Sabah
(UMS). The study was conducted (i) to observe the diversity of
mosquitoes in UMS, (ii) to compare the abundance of
mosquitoes in study sites, (iii) to observe the interactions of
abiotic factors such as time and temperature and (iv) to observe
the mosquitoes’ breeding sites. The samplings were done for 16
days for indoor and outdoor by using bare leg capture method
and were done for 12 hours on every sampling day.
Temperature was recorded every hour within 1800 until 0600. A
total of four genera and 11 species of mosquitoes were recorded
from the samplings. The highest abundance recorded were
Culex annulirostris, Culex sitiens, Culex pipiens, Culex
tritaeniorhynchus and Aedes albopictus. Hostel A-B recorded seven species, Hostel C-D recorded six species, Hostel E recorded six species, library’s cafe recorded six species and library’s lake recorded seven species. The dominant species at each study site were Culex annulirostris, Culex sitiens, Culex pipiens and Culex tritaeniorhynchus.