Molecular species identification, host preference and detection of myxoma virus in the Anopheles maculipennis complex (Diptera: Culicidae) in southern England, UK

Table 1 Reported rabbit-feeding behaviour of British mosquitoes and their association with the myxoma virus prior to this study

Mosquito species	Evidence of natural rabbit feeding	Identification of rabbit feeding through analysis of blood-meals	Wild-caught mosquitoes positive for Myxoma virus
Aedes cinereus	Yes [21, 23]^BC, [19]^DC	Yes [19, 20]	No
Aedes rusticus	Yes [19]^BC	No	No
Anopheles atroparvus ^a	No	No	Yes [18]
Anopheles claviger	Yes [19]^{DC, BC}	Yes [19, 20]	Yes [19]
Anopheles plumbeus	Yes [19, 43]^{DC, BC}	Yes [20, 21]	Yes [19]
Coquillettidia richiardii	Yes; [19, 43]^BC	Yes [19–21]	No
Culex pipiens s.l.	Yes [43]^BC	Yes [19, 20]	Yes [19]
Culex torrentium	Yes [43]^BC	Yes [20]	No
Culiseta annulata	Yes [19, 43]^{DC, BC}	Yes [20, 21]	No
Culiseta litorea	Yes	Yes [20]	No
Culiseta morsitans	Yes [43]^BC, [19]^DC	Yes [19, 21]	No
Ochlerotatus annulipes	Yes [23]^BC	Yes [23]	Yes [23]
Ochlerotatus cantans	Yes [19, 23]^BC	Yes [20, 23]	Yes [19, 23]
Ochlerotatus detritus	Yes [43]^{DC, BC}, [19]^DC	No	No
Ochlerotatus dorsalis	No	Yes [19, 20]	No
Ochlerotatus punctor	Yes [19, 20]^DC, [43]^BC	Yes [19]	No
Ochlerotatus geniculatus	Yes; [19]^{DC, BC}	Yes [19]	No

Evidence of natural feeding provided by direct collections (^DC) from rabbits, or rabbit-baited trap collections (^BC)
^a Anopheles atroparvus was identified in these studies based on morphological and behavioural characteristics. Culex pipiens s.l. in these studies was identified morphologically and thus could include Cx. pipiens f. pipiens or Cx. pipiens f. molestus

ISSN: 1756-3305