Environmental Entomology (1993) 22, 459-463

B. Yuval, J.W. Wekesa, D. Lemenager, E.E. Kauffman and R.K. Washino (1993)
Seasonal variation in body size of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in a rice culture agroecosystem
Environmental Entomology 22 (2), 459-463
Abstract: We determined whether wing lengths of Culex tarsalis (Coquillett) and Anopheles freeborni (Aitken) varied seasonally; whether size was associated with abundance; and if individuals of a particular size could be associated with riparian, pasture, or rice field habitats within the rice culture agroecosystem of northern California. Significantly, the size of both male and female Cx. tarsalis increased as the season progressed. The size of female An. freeborni also increased significantly throughout the season, but the size of males did not. Abundance was not correlated with average wing length nor could any habitat be significantly associated with a particular size group. We conclude that for the species studied here, environmental effects (such as water temperature and seasonal availability of larval nutrients) are more important in determining individual size than the density-dependent processes that regulate the size of mosquitoes that breed in small containers.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Database assignments for author(s): Boaz Yuval

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
population dynamics/ epidemiology
environment - cropping system/rotation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Culex tarsalis		U.S.A. (SW)
	Anopheles freeborni		U.S.A. (SW)