Abstract

FRANCIA, Analía  and  MACIA, Arnaldo. Effects of larval competition between the container mosquitoes, Aedes aegypti and Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) in semi-controlled conditions. Rev. Soc. Entomol. Argent. [online]. 2011, vol.70, n.3-4, pp.305-315. ISSN 0373-5680.

Larvae of Aedes aegypti (Linneo) and Culex pipiens Linneo may develop together in small artificial water containers, promoting inter- and/or intra-specific competition. Our aim was to compare the relative importance of interspecific and intraspecific competition in both species during larval development in artificial containers. Larvae were bred outdoors in automobile tires with leaf litteras the nutrient source. The number of experimental larvae was set after an assessment of densities (5) from wild populations. We established the treatments: 1: A. aegypti alone at the 5 of A. aegypti in the census; 2: C. pipiens alone at the 5 of C. pipiens in the census; 3: A. aegypti alone at the 5 of A. aegypti + C. pipiens in the census; 4: C. pipiens alone at the 5 A. aegypti + 5 C. pipiens in the census; and 5: A. aegypti at the 5 of A. aegypti in the census + C. pipiens at the 5 of C. pipiens in the census. Survivorship, development time and total biomass were affected by treatments, except for survivorship and biomass of C. pipiens. Intraspecific competition outweighed interspecific competiton in A. aegypti, while the opposite trend was detected in C. pipiens. Competition was asymmetric, as C. pipiens was more affected by A. aegypti.

Keywords : Mosquitoes; Competition; Development time; Biomass; Survivorship.

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