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Observations on Toxorhynchites brevipalpis conradti Grünb. (Diptera, Culicidae) in Uganda

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Philip S. Corbet
Philip S. Corbet
Affiliation:
The East African Virus Research Institute, Entebbe, Uganda.
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Extract

Observations made in Uganda on eight individuals of the mosquito Toxorhynchites brevipalpis conradti Grünb. reared in captivity from egg to adult are recorded. Larvae of this species are predatory and coexist in tree holes with those of mosquitos of medical importance.

The identification of larvae and pupae is discussed, and information provided on the following subjects: the amount of food (living larvae of Aedcs acgypti (L.)) needed for larvae to complete development; the feeding and killing behaviour of fourth-instar larvae; duration of the pupal stage; and the rate of autogenous ovarian development in the unfed female adult.

The compulsive killing behaviour shown by a fourth-instar larva about two days before it pupates could be expected to cause the death of all the other mosquito larvae in a tree hole of average size. This species is unusual among mosquitos in that pupae of females developed more rapidly than those of males.

Type
Research Paper
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 54 , Issue 1 , May 1963 , pp. 9 - 17
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1963

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