Studies on autogeny in Culex tarsalis: 3. Life table attributes of autogenous and anautogenous strains under laboratory conditions.
The reproductive biology and life table attributes of autogenous and anautogenous strains of Cx. tarsalis which were selected from the same parent colony were compared under laboratory conditions. Autogenous mosquitoes required 1 day longer to complete immature development, but oviposited 1 to 2 days earlier than anautogenous mosquitoes. Autogenous females readily imbibed blood meals from restrained chickens if ovarian maturation had not progressed to Christophers' Stage III. Wing length and life expectancy were not significantly different between strains; however, autogenous females laid a significantly smaller number of eggs per raft during initial oviposition than anautogenous females. Egg raft size did not differ significantly between strains during subsequent ovipositions resulting in similar net reproductive rates (Ro). Earlier oviposition and a comparable Ro resulted in a greater intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and birth rate (b) for autogenous than anautogenous cohorts. Thus, highly autogenous populations would be able to exploit newly created surface water breeding sources more rapidly than highly anautogenous populations. However, highly autogenous populations probably would not be able to transmit a horizontally maintained arbovirus as efficiently as anautogenous populations, since autogenous females imbibe their initial blood meal later in life than anautogenous females.
D000206:Actuarial Analysis; D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D003465:Culex / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D008017:Life Expectancy; D010058:Oviposition; D013045:Species Specificity