bug.latResearch summary · JAMCA 2021
Culex coronator distribution in the USA
A plain-language summary of a 2021 multistate study that added 146 county records for the mosquito Culex coronator, documenting its continued expansion across the southern United States.
Key findings: Culex coronator in 386 U.S. counties
- 146 new county records from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Texas.
- 386 counties in 14 states. With the new data, Cx. coronator is documented in 386 counties in 14 states of the continental USA.
- No new counties were added for Arizona, New Mexico, Tennessee, or Virginia, which had already reported the species.
- Northern limits. The species has been found as far north as northern Oklahoma; Memphis, TN; and Suffolk, VA.
History of Culex coronator in the United States
Culex coronator was first reported in the USA in 1920 from San Benito, Texas, and later from Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. In 2005 it was reported to be spreading across the southeastern USA. This paper gathers county-level records to show how far that expansion has gone.
Why it matters: vector potential
According to the paper, the public health significance of Cx. coronator is not firmly established, even though it has been implicated as a potential vector of several arboviral (mosquito-borne viral) diseases. The study includes a short research update on that vector potential.
For mosquito-control programs, accurate county records matter: a species that may carry viruses cannot be monitored if no one knows it is present. Updated distribution maps help programs decide where to look for it and which specimens to identify carefully. For background on mosquito-borne disease in the U.S., see the CDC mosquito resources.
Methods in brief
Records came from multistate collaborations with mosquito-control and public-health partners and from the authors’ own collections. New records were compiled at the county level and combined with previously published records to produce an updated U.S. distribution.
Authors
William J. Sames, James G. Mann, Rosmarie Kelly, Chris L. Evans, Wendy C. Varnado, Anthony B. Bosworth, Bruce H. Noden, Frank B. Ramberg, Michael T. Riles, Daniel Killingsworth, Michael S. Doyle, and R. Jason Pitts. Published in the Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 37(1):1–9, March 2021.
Citation
Sames, W. J., Mann, J. G., Kelly, R., Evans, C. L., Varnado, W. C., Bosworth, A. B., Noden, B. H., Ramberg, F. B., Riles, M. T., Killingsworth, D., Doyle, M. S., & Pitts, R. J. (2021). Distribution of Culex coronator in the USA. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association, 37(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.2987/21-6995.1