Introducción. Aedes aegypti es el principal vector de fiebre amarilla urbana, dengue, chikungunya y zika. Se ha demostrado que la distribución biogeográfica de esta especie se ha expandido debido al calentamiento global y a factores socioeconómicos y culturales. Los cambios en los patrones de la distribución altitudinal de este vector y su infección con el virus son prioridades de la investigación encaminada a desarrollar estrategias de vigilancia entomológica y virológica en salud pública.Objetivo. Evaluar la presencia de A. aegypti y su infección natural por el virus del dengue en alturas superiores a los 1.800 msnm en dos municipios periféricos del Valle de Aburrá, Antioquia, Colombia.Materiales y métodos. Se instalaron 21 ovitrampas en los municipios de Bello y San Pedro de los Milagros, en un rango altitudinal de 1.882 a 2.659 msnm. Los adultos que emergieron de las ovitrampas se evaluaron con reacción en cadena de la polimerasa en tiempo real (RT-PCR) para la detección del virus del dengue.Resultados. Se recolectaron 367 adultos de A. aegypti, siete de los cuales se encontraron a una altitud de 2.302 msnm en Tierradentro, Bello. Se detectaron 12 especímenes de A. aegypti positivos para dengue serotipo 2 en el barrio París de Bello, a 1.984 msnm.Conclusión. Por primera vez se registró A. aegypti a 2.302 msnm, la mayor altitud registrada para este vector en Colombia. De igual forma, se encontró infección con el virus del dengue a 1.984 msnm. Estos hallazgos son significativos, ya que determinan regiones de Colombia con riesgo potencial de transmisión autóctona de dengue y otros arbovirus por A. aegypti.

Effective malaria control relies on accurate identification of those Anopheles mosquitoes responsible for the transmission of Plasmodium parasites. Anopheles oswaldoi s.l. has been incriminated as a malaria vector in Colombia and some localities in Brazil, but not ubiquitously throughout its Neotropical range. This evidence together with variable morphological characters and genetic differences supports that An. oswaldoi s.l. compromises a species complex. The recent fully integrated redescription of An. oswaldoi s.s. provides a solid taxonomic foundation from which to molecularly determine other members of the complex. DNA sequences of the Second Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS2 - rDNA) (n = 192) and the barcoding region of the Cytochrome Oxidase I gene (COI - mtDNA) (n = 110) were generated from 255 specimens of An. oswaldoi s.l. from 33 localities: Brazil (8 localities, including the lectotype series of An. oswaldoi), Ecuador (4), Colombia (17), Trinidad and Tobago (1), and Peru (3). COI sequences were analyzed employing the Kimura-two-parameter model (K2P), Bayesian analysis (MrBayes), Mixed Yule-Coalescent model (MYC, for delimitation of clusters) and TCS genealogies. Separate and combined analysis of the COI and ITS2 data sets unequivocally supported four separate species: two previously determined (An. oswaldoi s.s. and An. oswaldoi B) and two newly designated species in the Oswaldoi Complex (An. oswaldoi A and An. sp. nr. konderi). The COI intra- and inter-specific genetic distances for the four taxa were non-overlapping, averaging 0.012 (0.007 to 0.020) and 0.052 (0.038 to 0.064), respectively. The concurring four clusters delineated by MrBayes and MYC, and four independent TCS networks, strongly confirmed their separate species status. In addition, An. konderi of Sallum should be regarded as unique with respect to the above. Despite initially being included as an outgroup taxon, this species falls well within the examined taxa, suggesting a combined analysis of these taxa would be most appropriate. Through novel data and retrospective comparison of available COI and ITS2 DNA sequences, evidence is shown to support the separate species status of An. oswaldoi s.s., An. oswaldoi A and An. oswaldoi B, and at least two species in the closely related An. konderi complex (An. sp. nr. konderi, An. konderi of Sallum). Although An. oswaldoi s.s. has never been implicated in malaria transmission, An. oswaldoi B is a confirmed vector and the new species An. oswaldoi A and An. sp. nr. konderi are circumstantially implicated, most likely acting as secondary vectors.

The symphylans are a poorly studied group. In Colombia the number of symphylan species is unknown with only Scutigerella immaculata (Symphyla: Scutigerellidae) being reported previously. The aim of this research was to collect and identify the symphylan pests of flower crops in Colombia. Morphological descriptions showed that our specimens shared more than one of the characters that define different genera within Scutigerellidae. The COI barcode haplotype showed interspecific level genetic divergence with S. causeyae (at least 23%) and Hanseniella sp. (22%). Furthermore, our Colombian symphylans shared the same COI haplotype as some Symphyla found in Cameroon indicating a wide geographical distribution of this taxon. Our results suggest the presence of a new genus or subgenus in the class Symphyla.

The Anopheles subgenus Kerteszia is a poorly understood group of mosquitoes that includes several species of medical importance. Although there are currently twelve recognized species in the subgenus, previous studies have shown that this is likely to be an underestimate of species diversity. Here, we undertake a baseline study of species delimitation using the barcode region of the mtDNA COI gene to explore species diversity among a geographically and taxonomically diverse range of Kerteszia specimens. Beginning with 10 of 12 morphologically identified Kerteszia species spanning eight countries, species delimitation analyses indicated a high degree of cryptic diversity. Overall, our analyses found support for at least 28 species clusters within the subgenus Kerteszia. The most diverse taxon was Anopheles neivai, a known malaria vector, with eight species clusters. Five other species taxa showed strong signatures of species complex structure, among them Anopheles bellator, which is also considered a malaria vector. There was some evidence for species structure within An. homunculus, although the results were equivocal across delimitation analyses. The current study, therefore, suggests that species diversity within the subgenus Kerteszia has been grossly underestimated. Further work will be required to build on this molecular characterization of species diversity and will rely on genomic level approaches and additional morphological data to test these species hypotheses.

La malaria es un grave problema de salud pública en Colombia, con Plasmodium falciparum y P. vivax como los parásitos responsables del 97% de los casos. En el año 2019 el departamento de Antioquia presentó 7076 casos de malaria, siendo el municipio de Turbo uno de los más afectados. El objetivo de esta investigación fue determinar las especies de Anopheles spp. presentes en áreas endémicas de transmisión de malaria en Turbo, Antioquia, y evaluar su infección natural con Plasmodium spp. Se realizaron cuatro muestreos entre 2015 y 2016; los mosquitos fueron recolectados en el intradomicilio, peridomicilio y animales de corral; además, se realizó búsqueda activa de especímenes inmaduros en criaderos naturales. Se recolectaron 121 mosquitos adultos, pertenecientes a cuatro especies, An. albimanus (n=117), An. triannulatus s.l. (n=1), An, apicimacula s.l. (n=1) y An. pseudopunctipennis s.l. (n=2). Igualmente, se recolectaron 65 larvas pertenecientes a tres especies, An. albimanus (n=58), An. triannulatus (n=1) y An. apicimacula (n=6). Ninguno de los especímenes recolectados fue encontrado infectado con Plasmodium. Anopheles albimanus podría ser el principal vector de malaria en las localidades estudiadas. Posiblemente, An. pseudopunctipennis s.l. puede jugar un papel en la transmisión de malaria en presencia de personas infectadas y con altas densidades. Las bajas densidades de mosquitos encontradas en este estudio indican que las estrategias de control desarrolladas en los años 2014-2015, por las instituciones de salud locales, con Bacillus sphaericus e insecticidas están resultando eficaces.

BACKGROUND Effective interventions for controlling Anopheles malaria vectors depend on accurately identifying the species. Venezuela has the highest malaria prevalence in the region of the Americas; however, there is very limited knowledge about the vectors, especially regarding species complexes and their distribution. OBJECTIVES To conduct molecular taxonomy and phylogenetic analysis of the Albitarsis, Nuneztovari, and Oswaldoi complexes from malaria-endemic regions of Guyana and Venezuela using mtCOI sequences. METHODS Anopheles were collected in Guyana (Potaro Region) and Venezuela (five municipalities). Species identification was carried out by analyzing mitochondrial cytochrome C oxidase (mtCOI) gene data using MrBayes, TCS, Posterior Probabilities of Correct Identification (P ID), Rosenberg’s P (AB) values, and P (Randomly Distinct) as species delimitation approaches. FINDINGS Four distinct taxa were identified: An. albitarsis F, An. goeldii, An. oswaldoi A and An. oswaldoiB. Anopheles oswaldoi A and An. oswaldoi B occurred sympatrically in Boca de Nichare, Bolívar State, Venezuela. CONCLUSION Anopheles goeldii is reported for the first time from Guyana and Venezuela, and discuss its role as vector of malaria parasites in both countries and its relative recent colonization. Anopheles oswaldoi A is reported for the first time from Venezuela. Anopheles albitarsis F, an important malaria vector in Colombia and Venezuela, is confirmed as the only species of the Albitarsis complex widely distributed in Venezuela. Our results will be valuable for future research aimed at clarifying the status of these significant species complexes in the region.