Composition, seasonal abundance, and public health importance of mosquito species in the regional unit of Thessaloniki, Northern Greece.

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are the largest group of blood-feeding insects that disturb not only humans but also other mammals and birds. This study reports the presence of native mosquito species in the regional unit of Thessaloniki and the monitoring of their population. In total, 13 mosquito species belonging to four genera were identified. The most dominant species was Culex pipiens, followed by Aedes caspius. In the present study, we report for the first time the presence of Ae. vittatus in Greece and of Anopheles plumbeus in the regional unit of Thessaloniki. Regarding the seasonal variation, species of the genus Aedes were the ones that first appeared in late March, followed by Culex species at the end of April and finally species of the genus Anopheles in July. Species of the Aedes genus were found to be the most abundant in the first quarter of the year (late March to early April). Population of Cx. pipiens remained at high levels from late April to late September. Species of the genus Anopheles were found in high densities from early August to October. The current study contributes to the knowledge of the mosquito species composition and their relative abundance in an area where West Nile virus caused severe epidemic outbreaks.