Gnat
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Culiseta (Culiseta) annulata |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Culiseta (Culiseta) annulata | ||||||||||||
| ( Closet , 1776) |
The marigold or large house mosquito ( Culiseta annulata , in the older literature Theobaldia annulata ; in southwest Germany also Ringelschnake) is a mosquito that is particularly widespread in Northern Europe . Compared to other species, the ringed mosquito is large and powerful (10-13 mm long). The wings are each marked with three blurred dark scales. The body is black-gray with light transverse bands, the legs are ringed white. It is therefore often confused with the Asian tiger mosquito ( Aedes albopictus ).
biology
Ringflies are often associated with the common mosquito ( Culex pipiens ). Both species are often common in human settlements, where they lay their eggs in nutrient-rich water in rain barrels and other containers, in cesspools, ditches, pools, puddles, and similar locations. As with Culex , the clutches of around 200 eggs are grouped into boats, but they are with Cs. annulata coarser and broader. Already after the beginning of spring you can find the larvae of the marigold in suitable breeding waters.
The larvae hatch three to five days after oviposition. The duration of larval and pupal development is temperature-dependent. At water temperatures of 20 to 23 ° C, development times from egg to hatching of the adult animal were 18 days, at 24 to 27 ° C only 16 days. The larvae did not survive at temperatures above 31 ° C.
The fertilized females look for winter spots in late autumn and often fly into human dwellings (also resembling Cx. Pipiens here ). Suitable winter quarters are cellars, storage rooms, stables, hollow trees and other cool, but not frost-exposed places with sufficient humidity to prevent the dormant mosquito from drying out. Thermal drops can interrupt the wintering; in stables, for example, the animals that are activated can become very annoying.
If the winters are mild, or if they are in the south of their distribution, annelids can overwinter in the larval stage.
The females coming out of their winter quarters in spring also sting during the day. Later in the year, however, they tend to be nocturnal. Hosts are mostly mammals, including humans, more rarely birds.
There are up to three generations per year. In the course of the year the population density increases and reaches its maximum in September.
distribution
The marigold is widespread in Europe. Their distribution area extends to North Africa , Asia Minor and the Middle East . However, it is more common in the north than in the south. Culiseta longiareolata often takes its place there.
Medical importance
Ring flies are possible carriers of the Tahyna virus and carriers of some birds of infecting plasmodia species .
The wings are drawn with blurry spots
The clutch of Culiseta is similar to that of Culex
literature
- N. Becker et al .: Mosquitoes and their Control. Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers. New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow 2003, ISBN 0-306-47360-7 , 518 pages.
- E. Martini: About mosquitoes, especially their European species and how to control them. Leipzig. Publisher by Johann Ambrosius Barth., 1920, 267 pages.
- F. Peus: Mosquitoes. (= Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei. Volume 22). Reprint of the 1951 edition. Westarp Wissenschaften-Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Hohenwarsleben 1951, ISBN 3-89432-516-X , 80 pages.
Web links
- Information ( memento of February 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) of the municipal working group to combat the mosquito plague of the Asian tiger mosquito with detailed pictures to distinguish it from the marigold Culiseta annulata .