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Fecundity, autogeny, and the larval environment of the pitcher-plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii

Publication ,  Journal Article
Lounibos, LP; Van Dover, C; O'Meara, GF
Published in: Oecologia
November 1, 1982

Pupae and fourth instar larvae of a southern (30°N, Alabama, USA) population of Wyeomyia smithii Coq. (Diptera: Culicidae) were collected from pitcher plants. Adults which emerged were maintained without food then dissected to determine their egg clutch size. Among females which matured eggs, fecundities were negatively correlated with larval densities in individual pitchers. The mean autogenous fecundity of the overwintering generation did not differ from a summer sample. Adults unable to mature eggs comprised 6-39% of samples, depending on whether collected as pupae or fourth instar larvae. Fecundity was negatively correlated with time to adult eclosion among larvae maintained on unrenewed pitcher contents in the laboratory. Cohorts from this population were reared in artificial containers from egg hatch to adulthood at a single density and a superior or inferior diet. On the superior larval diet, all females survived to reproductive age, and all but one (>99%) produced eggs autogenously. On the inferior diet, survivorship to adult eclosion was significantly less, a high proportion of females died before reaching reproductive age, and only 19% of survivors matured eggs without blood. Protracted larval development induced by the inferior diet did not influence the probability of autogeny among females that survived to reproductive maturity. The relationship between larval environment and reproductive strategies is contrasted across the geographic range of W. smithii. Bloodfeeding occurs among southern populations where density dependent constraints on preimaginal growth are constantly severe. The loss of hematophagy among northern populations may have been facilitated by periods of density independent larval growth. © 1982 Springer-Verlag.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Oecologia

DOI

EISSN

1432-1939

ISSN

0029-8549

Publication Date

November 1, 1982

Volume

55

Issue

2

Start / End Page

160 / 164

Related Subject Headings

  • Ecology
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0602 Ecology
 

Citation

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Lounibos, L. P., Van Dover, C., & O’Meara, G. F. (1982). Fecundity, autogeny, and the larval environment of the pitcher-plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii. Oecologia, 55(2), 160–164. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00384482
Lounibos, L. P., C. Van Dover, and G. F. O’Meara. “Fecundity, autogeny, and the larval environment of the pitcher-plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii.” Oecologia 55, no. 2 (November 1, 1982): 160–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00384482.
Lounibos LP, Van Dover C, O’Meara GF. Fecundity, autogeny, and the larval environment of the pitcher-plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii. Oecologia. 1982 Nov 1;55(2):160–4.
Lounibos, L. P., et al. “Fecundity, autogeny, and the larval environment of the pitcher-plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii.” Oecologia, vol. 55, no. 2, Nov. 1982, pp. 160–64. Scopus, doi:10.1007/BF00384482.
Lounibos LP, Van Dover C, O’Meara GF. Fecundity, autogeny, and the larval environment of the pitcher-plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii. Oecologia. 1982 Nov 1;55(2):160–164.
Journal cover image

Published In

Oecologia

DOI

EISSN

1432-1939

ISSN

0029-8549

Publication Date

November 1, 1982

Volume

55

Issue

2

Start / End Page

160 / 164

Related Subject Headings

  • Ecology
  • 3109 Zoology
  • 3104 Evolutionary biology
  • 3103 Ecology
  • 0602 Ecology