Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-pftt2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-28T21:24:48.463Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

ESTIMATES OF POPULATION SIZE AND SURVIVAL OF IMMATURE STAGES OF FOUR SPECIES OF AEDES (DIPTERA: CULICIDAE) IN A TEMPORARY POND

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

M. A. Enfield  and
G. Pritchard
M. A. Enfield
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4
G. Pritchard
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

A temporary pond close to Calgary, Alberta, was studied for 2 years. In the spring of the first year (1974) the pond filled with water to a much higher level than normal and it did not dry and reflood until August. The first flooding hatched eggs of Aedes euedes, A. cataphylla, A. excrucians, A. fitchii, A. flavescens, and A. mercurator; the second flooding hatched eggs of A. vexans and A. cinereus. Estimates of larval population size were made for the latter two species and little larval mortality occurred until the pond was reduced to a few small puddles, when larvae became stranded. The pond dried completely before the pupal stage was attained. Fifty per cent of surviving A. vexans larvae attained instar II in 3.7 days, instar III in 6.6 days, and instar IV in 10.3 days. A. cinereus developed more slowly.

In the second year (1975) the pond contained water from the middle of April to the beginning of June, and did not refill in the summer. Estimates of larval population sizes were made for A. euedes and A. mercurator. These larvae shared a preference for the deeper water in the centre of the pond. Their numbers declined at rates of 9% per day for A. euedes and 7% per day for A. mercurator. Larvae in the second instar survived a period of 3 days when the water surface was covered with ice and snow, but A. euedes experienced a sharp drop in numbers at this time.

Fifty-three per cent of the eggs of A. vexans survived a period of 1 year in areas not flooded with water at appropriate temperatures for hatching.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 109 , Issue 11 , November 1977 , pp. 1425 - 1434
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1977

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Clements, A. N. 1963. The physiology of mosquitoes. Pergamon Press, New York.Google Scholar
Enfield, M. A. and Pritchard, G.. 1977. Methods for sampling immature stages of Aedes spp. (Diptera: Culicidae) in temporary ponds. Can. Ent. 109: 1435–1444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gjullin, C. M. et al. 1950. Studies on Aedes vexans and Aedes sticticus, floodwater mosquitoes in the lower Columbia Valley. Ann. ent. Soc. Am. 43: 262–275.Google Scholar
Hearle, E. 1929. The life history of Aedes flavescens Müller — a contribution to the biology of mosquitoes of the Canadian prairies. Trans. Roy. Soc. Can. 23: 85–102.Google Scholar
*Hinman, E. H. 1934. Predators of the Culicidae (mosquitoes). I. The predators of larvae and pupae, exclusive of fish. J. trop. Med. Hyg. 37: 129–134.Google Scholar
Iversen, T. M. 1971. The ecology of a mosquito population (Aedes communis) in a temporary pool in a Danish beech wood. Arch. Hydrobiol. 69: 309–332.Google Scholar
James, H. G. 1961. Some predators of Aedes stimulans (Walker) and Aedes trichurus (Dyar) (Diptera: Culicidae) in woodland pools. Can. J. Zool. 30: 535–540.Google Scholar
Lakhani, K. H. and Service, M. W.. 1974. Estimated mortalities of the immature stages of Aedes cantans Meigen (Diptera: Culicidae) in a natural habitat. Bull. ent. Res. 64: 265–276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar