BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES The study was undertaken to characterize factors influencing differential productivity of Anopheles gambiae complex mosquitoes at larval habitats in a rural village in western Kenya. METHODS Longitudinal larval sampling was done using an area sampler for 3 months. Emerged adults were identified to species level morphologically using taxonomic keys and to sub-species by...

Malaria vector control targeting the larval stages of mosquitoes was applied successfully against many species of Anopheles (Diptera: Culicidae) in malarious countries until the mid-20th Century. Since the introduction of DDT in the 1940s and the associated development of indoor residual spraying (IRS), which usually has a more powerful impact than larval control on vectorial capacity, the focu...

The aims of this study were to characterise the ground-level larval habitats of the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus, to determine the relationships between habitat characteristics and larval abundance and to examine seasonal larval-stage variations in Córdoba city. Every two weeks for two years, 15 larval habitats (natural and artificial water bodies, including shallow wells, drains, retention ...

Lentic freshwater systems including those inhabited by aquatic stages of mosquitoes derive most of their carbon inputs from terrestrial organic matter mainly leaf litter. The leaf litter is colonized by microbial communities that provide the resource base for mosquito larvae. While the microbial biomass associated with different leaf species in container aquatic habitats is well documented, the...

Ciliate protists and rotifers are ubiquitous in aquatic habitats and can comprise a significant portion of the microbial food resources available to larval mosquitoes, often showing substantial declines in abundance in the presence of mosquito larvae. This top-down regulation of protists is reported to be strong for mosquitoes inhabiting small aquatic containers such as pitcher plants or tree h...

Mosquito collections made on Saipan during September-October 199 1, as part of a retrospective investigation of a Japanese encephalitis (JE) outbreak, are summarized. Forty-two larval habitats were sampled at 21 different sites. Most larvae were individually link-reared to the adult stage. Nine species, representing three genera and five subgenera, were collected. Numerous specimens of Culex tr...

Biological invasions generally induce profound effects on the structure of resident communities. In Mayotte, where Aedes aegypti and Ae. lilii were already present, the recent introduction of Ae. albopictus raises public health concerns because it may affect the risk of arbovirus transmission. Entomological surveys were carried out in six locations on the island following a transect defined by ...

Many of the most widely spread vector-borne diseases are water related, in that the mosquito vectors concerned breed or pass part of their lifecycle in or close to water. A major reason for the study of mosquito larval ecology is to gather information on environmental variables that may determine the species of mosquitoes and the distribution of larvae in the breeding habitats. Larval surveilla...

Amphibians exhibit considerable diversity in behavioral, physiological, and life history strategies. They are geographically widespread, occupying a diverse range of habitats. Amphibians that undergo metamorphosis have two very different life stages that are affected differently by environmental factors. Most anuran (frog) larvae are aquatic, and tadpoles are found in a wide variety of habitats...