The potential risk areas for emerging or reemerging diseases are determined by the presence, abundance, and distribution of mosquitoes. Here new records and geographical distribution extension of mosquito species in phytotelmata are updated for Argentina. We report for the first time Toxorhynchites bambusicola in Aechmea distichantha in Salta and Tucumán provinces, in the northwest region of Argentina. We also report Anophelesargyritarsis in A. distichantha in Salta province. Culexcoronator, Cx. fernandezi, and Cx.hepperi are reported for the first time from Vriesea friburgensis, a new phytotelma from the northwest region of Tucumán province, Argentina. These findings confirm the need for continued research on mosquito-plant relationships to better understand this complex ecological network and the epidemiological importance of phytotelmata-breeding mosquito species.

The potential risk areas for emerging or reemerging diseases are determined by the presence, abundance and distribution of mosquitoes (Berti et al. 1993, Campos and Gleiser 2016). Climatic and environmental variables can affect mosquito spread, life cycles, behavior, and pathogen transmission (Dantur-Juri et al. 2014).

Some immature mosquito stages develop in phytotelmata (singular phytotelma), water-retaining structures on terrestrial plants (Campos and Gleiser 2016), such as modified leaves (Heliconia), leaf axils (Araceae, Bromeliaceae), stems (bamboos), tree holes, fruit husks, and flowers (Marantaceae) (Campos and Gleiser 2016). More than 200 mosquito species occupy these natural structures, some with specific associations (Brown 2001). The bromeliad Aechmea distichantha (Lamaire) (Bromeliaceae) is a natural larval habitat for different mosquito species in Argentina, such as Aedes aegypti (L.), Culex quinquefasciatus Say, Cx. imitator Theobald, Cx. davisi Kumm, Cx. fernandezi Casal, García and Cavalieri, Trichoprosopon pallidiventer (Lutz), Toxorhynchites haemorrhoidalis (Lynch Arribálzaga), Tx. guadalupensis (Dyar and Knab), Tx. solstitialis (Lutz), Tx. bambusicola (Lutz and Neiva), Wyeomyia muehlensi Petrocchi, Wy. limai Lane and Cerqueira, and Wy. quasilongirostris (Theobald) (Stein et al. 2011, 2013; Berón et al. 2016).

In addition, the bromeliad Vriesea friburgensis Mez var. tucumanensis (Mez) L.B. Sm. has been reported as a host plant for several mosquito species, including Cx. hedys Root, Cx. imitator, Cx. neglectus Lutz, Cx. albipes Lutz, Cx. davisi, Cx. pleuristriatus Theobald, Wy. incaudata Root, Tx. solstitialis, and Ae. aegypti (Müller and Marcondes 2006, Veggiani and Rossi 2017). In Argentina, 3 species were collected from this bromeliad: Tx. solstitialis, Cx. imitator (Misiones province) (Berón et al. 2016), and Ae. aegypti (Tucumán province) (Veggiani and Rossi 2017).

The long-term goal of this study is to establish a network of mosquito-phytotelmata interactions, based on the premise that landscape changes have facilitated the establishment of new species in both natural and human-modified habitats.

Immature forms were collected during entomological surveillance in El Oculto (23°06′59.1″S, 64°30′04.3″W) and Isla de Cañas (22°53′55.7″S, 64°39′55.8″W) in the northern Yungas (Salta province) and in San Javier (26°47′03.7″S, 65°20′23.2″W), Batiruana (27°38′30.7″S, 65°44′06.0″W), and La Florida Provincial Reserve (27°13′07.9″S, 65°37′44.2″W) in the southern Yungas (Tucumán province) (Fig. 1). The Salta localities are located in the foothill rainforest and montane rainforest transition zone, characterized by woody plants (trees, shrubs, and lianas). The Tucumán localities are also located in the foothill rainforest. Epiphytes are mainly xerophytic and include cacti, revival ferns, and bromeliads (Brown and Grau 1995). El Oculto and La Florida Provincial Reserve were considered wild habitats, but Isla de Cañas, San Javier, and Batiruana as modified habitats due to the proximity of human activities.

Fig. 1.

A map of the sampling sites for mosquitoes in the bromeliad Aechmea distichantha and Vriesea friburgensis in Salta and Tucuman provinces, northwestern Argentina.

Fig. 1.

A map of the sampling sites for mosquitoes in the bromeliad Aechmea distichantha and Vriesea friburgensis in Salta and Tucuman provinces, northwestern Argentina.

Close modal

Samples were taken during April and October 2017 and 2018. A total of 20 epiphytic bromeliads were sampled per locality, at heights of 0.50 m to 4 m above the ground. Samples were taken from all leaf axils containing water (1 to 15 axils per bromeliad per locality). For each bromeliad, the following measurements were recorded: basal diameter, total plant length, number of leaves, leaf width, and distance from the plant to the ground. Physical parameters such as internal water temperature, external ambient temperature, water pH, volume of water retained, sunlight exposure and sediment weight (grams) were also recorded, along with the presence of nearby dwellings and proximity to the subtropical montane rainforest. Immature mosquitoes were collected with a 50 ml pipette from water retained in the axils of A. distichantha and V. friburgensis, and then transported to the laboratory in 500 ml PVC tubes where larvae and pupae were isolated. A percentage of the third and fourth instars were preserved in 70% ethanol, and the remaining individuals were reared to obtain the adults. All the specimens collected were identified by using the taxonomical keys of Lane (1953) and Darsie (1985) and descriptions of Casal et al. (1966) and Rossi and Harbach (2008). Adult female vouchers were deposited in the Collection of Miguel Lillo Foundation, Tucumán, Argentina. The genus and subgenus abbreviations used in this paper are those defined by the Walter Reed Biosystematics Unit (WRBU 2023).

Brief descriptions of the species recorded are listed below, including information regarding the number of collected specimens, their distributions, bionomics aspects, and medical importance, when applicable. The following species is reported for the first time in A. distichantha from Salta and Tucumán provinces, northwestern region of Argentina.

Toxorhynchites bambusicola (Lutz and Neiva)

A total of 52 larvae were collected in El Oculto and Isla de Cañas localities in the northern Yungas (Salta province) and in San Javier, Batiruana, and La Florida Provincial Reserve in the southern Yungas (Tucumán province). This species co-occurred with Cx. imitator and Cx. coronator Dyar and Knab in the bromeliads in the localities of both areas of the Yungas. Previously, Tx. bambusicola was reported in northeastern Misiones (Mitchell and Darsie 1985) and Corrientes province (Stein et al. 2018), though without specifying the phytotelmata species. Berón et al. (2016) mentioned as natural larval habitat for Tx. bambusicola 2 families of plants: Guadua chacoensis (Rojas) Londoño and P. M. Peterson and unspecified bamboo in the Poaceae family and A. distichantha in the Bromeliaceae family. The latter is the same phytotelma of the present report.

The following species, collected in Salta province, are reported for the first time in A. distichantha.

Anopheles argyritarsis (Robineau-Desvoidy)

Eighteen immature specimens were collected from A. distichantha bromeliads in El Oculto and Isla de Cañas localities, in the northern Yungas (Salta province). Along with An. argyritarsis, larvae of Cx. coronator, Cx. imitator, and Wy. oblita (Lutz) were also collected. Although An. argyritarsis prefers mountain rivers for larval habitats (Dantur-Juri et al. 2014), it has been found in A. distichantha in Tucumán and Catamarca and in V. friburgensis in Tucumán (Veggiani and Rossi 2017). This is the first report in Salta province. The finding of An. argyritarsis in A. distichantha is epidemiologically significant in this new larval habitat located in the Yungas rainforest, where malaria cases have occurred.

The following mosquito species are reported for the first time in V. friburgensis from Argentina, from the northwest area of the country, and from Tucumán province, respectively.

Culex coronator Dyar and Knab

94 immature specimens were collected from V. friburgensis bromeliads in La Florida Provincial Reserve, in the southern Yungas (Tucumán province), alongside Cx. fernandezi, Cx. hepperi Casal and García, Cx. imitator, and Ae. aegypti. This species is typically found in stagnant or slow-moving pools and seeps, artificial containers, ditches, culverts, tire ruts, ground depressions, and even dredge sites (Forattini 2002). Ferreira et al. (2001) reported low densities associated with the fungus Aquascypha hydrophora (Berk.) D. A. Reid in Central Amazonia from Brazil. This is the first report of Cx. coronator in a phytotelma in Argentina, confirming V. friburgensis as a potential new habitat. In Argentina, the species is also found in grass-covered shady pools and interrock pools in river and stream beds (Campos et al. 2023). Female Cx. coronator have been naturally infected with Río Negro virus (Venezuelan equine encephalitis complex) in Chaco, Argentina (Pisano et al. 2010) and West Nile virus in the USA. Additionally, Saint Louis encephalitis virus was isolated from Cx. coronator specimens in Brazil (Vasconcelos et al. 1991).

Culex fernandezi Casal, García and Cavalieri

78 specimens were collected from Vriesea friburgensis bromeliads in La Florida Provincial Reserve, in the southern Yungas (Tucumán province). This species has previously been found in puddles between rocks in a stream bed and other phytotelma, such as A. distichantha (Stein et al. 2013, Veggiani and Rossi 2017). Knowledge of its ecology, distribution, and larval habitats is limited. Notably, it was found in the same phytotelma with Cx. coronator and Cx. hepperi.

Culex hepperi Casal and García

104 specimens were collected from V. friburgensis bromeliads in La Florida Provincial Reserve, in the southern Yungas (Tucumán province), marking the first report for northwestern Argentina. Previously, immature stages were found in Eryngium spp. axils alongside Cx. renatoi Lane and Ramallho, Cx. castroi Casal and García, and Cx. spinosus Lutz (Campos and Lounibos 1999). Notably, it was collected in the same phytotelma where Cx. fernandezi and Cx. coronator were also found.

In summary, this study reports for the first time Tx. bambusicola immature stages in A. distichantha bromeliads as a new phytotelmata situated in the subtropical mountainous rainforest of Salta and Tucumán provinces. Anopheles argyritarsis is recorded in Salta province for the first time in A. distichantha. Culex coronator, Cx. fernandezi, and Cx. hepperi are reported for the first time in V. friburgensis in Argentina, in the northwest region of the country and in Tucumán province. Additionally, A. distichantha could be a regular larval habitat for An. argyritarisis in Salta. This scenario involves a potential risk for translocation of parasites from natural areas to the surrounding forest villages and vice versa, adding the spatio-temporal overlap between An. argyritarsis and An. pseudopunctipennis Theobald. A continued and permanent effort of epidemiological surveillance of the vector is required in historically malarious areas, such as the northern Yungas ecoregion, Salta province (Dantur-Juri et al. 2003, 2009). The results obtained confirm the necessity of continued efforts to increase the knowledge of insect-plant relationships for the comprehension of this complex ecological network.

We thank Cristian Laci and Daniel Carrizo, technicians of the Ministry of Health of Argentina, for their invaluable collaboration during the field collection. We especially thank Eric D. Carter, Edens Professor of Geography and Global Health, Macalester College, for improving the English version of the manuscript. This work was supported by the Agencia Nacional de Promoción Científica y Tecnológica (ANPCyT PICT-2014-3281).

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