Diving Ability of Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) Larvae

Anopheles gambiae Giles larvae usually live near the surface of shallow and temporary aquatic habitats. How deep the larvae can dive and how long they can submerge may be related to feeding efficiency and predator avoidance. This study examined diving behavior of An. gambiae larvae in the laboratory...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of medical entomology 2004-07, Vol.41 (4), p.810-812
Main Authors: Tuno, Nobuko, Miki, Kaori, Minakawa, Noboru, Githeko, Andrew, Yan, Guiyun, Takagi, Masahiro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
age
Animals
Anopheles - growth & development
Anopheles gambiae
aquatic habitat
Behavior, Animal - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Culicidae
depth
Diving
diving behavior
diving depth
duration
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
insect behavior
instars
Kenya
Larva
larval ecology
larval submergence
Medically important nuisances and vectors, pests of stored products and materials: population survey and control
mortality
mosquito
SHORT COMMUNICATIONS
Swimming
Vectors. Intermediate hosts
water quality
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Summary:Anopheles gambiae Giles larvae usually live near the surface of shallow and temporary aquatic habitats. How deep the larvae can dive and how long they can submerge may be related to feeding efficiency and predator avoidance. This study examined diving behavior of An. gambiae larvae in the laboratory. We recorded diving depths and larval mortality of second and fourth instars in clean water and muddy water by using deep water (32-cm) and shallow water (20-cm) columns. In deep water columns with clean water, we found that 2% of second instars and 6% of fourth instars died from diving, whereas 3% of second instars and 11% of fourth instars died in muddy water. The fourth instars dived deeper in muddy water than in clean water. The mortality rates of the fourth instars subjected to diving stimulations were significantly higher than those in the shallow water columns. Therefore, larval diving behavior may offer the benefits of predator avoidance and food acquisition but also incur energetic costs and increased mortality.
ISSN:0022-2585
1938-2928
DOI:10.1603/0022-2585-41.4.810