The immatures of eight mosquito species in six genera were collected from treeholes and artificial containers at three sites in central Missouri from May - October, 1986 - 1988. The species most frequently collected was Aedes triseriatus (Say), followed in descending order by Anopheles barberi (Coquillett), Orthopodomyia signifera (Coquillett), Aedes hendersoni (Cockerell), Culex restuans Theobald, Culex territans Walker, Psorophora ferox (Humboldt), and Toxorhynchites rutilus septentrionalis (Dyar & Knab). Larvae of Ps. ferox collected from a basal white oak treehole were the first record of this species from this habitat. Larvae of Cx. restuans and Cx. territans were collected only from artificial containers and not from treeholes. Aedes triseriatus was opportunistic with respect to tree species inhabited, with distributions roughly paralleling the relative abundance of available treeholes. Artificial containers, even when enriched with leaf litter, did not constitute an adequate mimic for treeholes when sampling Ae. triseriatus immatures.
Author notes
2 Current address: 714th Medical Detachment, Ft. Bragg, NC 28307-5000.
