Medical and Veterinary Entomology (2012) 26, 236-238

R.A. Cheke (2012)
The thermal constant of the onchocerciasis vector Simulium damnosum s.l. in West Africa
Medical and Veterinary Entomology 26 (2), 236-238
Abstract: The minimum water temperature for development (t₀) and the thermal constant (K) for the development of immature stages of Simulium damnosum s.l. (Diptera: Simuliidae) in West Africa were estimated as 20.1 °C and 93 day-degrees, respectively, based on analyses of published data on development rates of eggs, larvae and pupae at different water temperatures (24.0 °C and 31.5 °C). Thus, at a constant water temperature of 30.0 °C (approximately 10 °C above t₀), adult flies would emerge about 9 days after oviposition. Analysis of a dataset probably restricted to S. damnosum s.s., but for which the temperature for the egg stage varied, revealed a much lower t₀ (16.3 °C) and a much higher K (181 day-degrees), suggesting that the insects' thermal relations may be cytoform-specific. The results will aid control decisions and predictions of possible effects of climate change on sizes and geographic distributions of populations of onchocerciasis vectors in West Africa.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Robert A. Cheke

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Simulium damnosum