Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) species composition and seasonal abundance in representative habitats of three Wisconsin ecoregions

Poorly drained habitats, such as hardwood and conifer swamps, sphagnum moss and tamarack bogs, kettle lakes, glacial potholes, and hardwood forests riddled with tree holes are numerous in Wisconsin and are ideal places for mosquito development. Early surveys of mosquitoes in Wisconsin (Dickensen 1944, Gilardi 1992, Silvery and DeFoliart 1968) do not accurately depict the modern ecological landscape, are limited to only a portion of the state, or focused only on larvae of select genera. More recent published surveys have not thoroughly covered the varied ecosystems of Wisconsin, as they were mainly surveys of counties or urban centers and most focused on monitoring for disease vectors (Meece et al. 2001, Kronenwetter-Koepel et al. 2005). Our current study is part of an on-going effort by the primary author to survey representative habitats from each of the 27 ecoregions of Wisconsin for adult and larval mosquitoes, providing a truly comprehensive survey of Wisconsin mosquitoes. For this study, we surveyed mosquitoes in four habitats from each of three ecoregions: Glacial Lake Wisconsin Sand Plain, Northern Highlands Lakes Country, and Chequamegon Moraine and Outwash Plain. Each habitat was sampled every two weeks, starting 01 or 16 June 2012, for adult mosquitoes using a CDC miniature light trap baited with dry ice. Juveniles were sampled using a dip net or aspirator when water was present. Data on mosquito species found in each habitat sampled during June-November 2012 and seasonal distribution of select representative species will be presented here.