[Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) ecology in natural and artificial breeding places in rural areas of the northern Paraná State, Brazil. I.--Collections from a riverbed].

The objective of this study is to identify the Culicidae species apt to colonize the waters of a creek with reduced gallery forest in the southern region of Brazil. Captures were performed using a water insect-collecting net. The following species were captured. Aedes crinifer, Aedomya squamipennis, Anopheles fluminensis, An. intermedius, An. albitarsis, An. argyritarsis, An. evansae, An. strodei, An. oswaldoi, An. Triannulatus, Chagasia fajardi, Culex bidens, Cx. group coronator, Cx. eduardoi, Cx. Mollis, Cx. quinquefasciatus, Cx. coppenamensis, Cx. vaxus, Cx. group inhibitor, Cx. intrincatus, Cx. (Melanoconion) sp, Psorophora saeva (?) and Uranotaenia pulcherrima. As for the species which showed the highest frequency rate, the following aspects were studied: population fluctuation, environmental factor correlated with geographic distribution along the area. It was concluded that superficial waters with reduced gallery forest may serve as a refuge for some Culicidae. This fact may contribute to the domiciliation process of the species.