Integrated Approaches in Support of Taxonomic Identification of Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Vector Surveillance in Spain.

The pandemic of Zika virus in 2016 and other arboviruses prompted La Rioja Government in Spain to implement an entomological surveillance program of mosquitoes (Diptera; Culicidae) in the region of La Rioja. The morphological identification was supported by genetic analysis using the (cytochrome oxidase subunit I) and the (internal transcribed spacer 2) genes. In total, we identified 24 species arranged in 6 genera: (7 species), (4 species), (1 species), (7 species), (4 species), and (1 species). and are newly reported for La Rioja region. In total, 465 sequences were analyzed for Culicinae and Anophelinae and 54 sequences for Anophelinae; all individuals identified as the same species clustered together in the Neighbor Joining trees. The levels of sequence divergence based on ranged between 0% and 2.62%, while the interspecific genetic divergence ranged from 3.05% to 20.07%. Within the genus certain specimens of , and were morphologically misidentified due to variation in the main diagnostic characters. The interspecific genetic divergence based on the ranged from 0% to 2.98%. An accurate identification of mosquito vectors is the first step to establish a vector surveillance program for preventing pathogen transmission.