Occurrence of Toxorhynchites guadeloupensis (Dyar Knab) in oviposition trap of Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae).
Toxorhynchites guadeloupensis (Dyar Knab), a poorly known mosquito species, was observed preying upon Aedes aegypti (L.) larvae, in an oviposition trap placed for routine dengue entomological surveillance, during 2003-2004 in the urban area of Boa Vista, Roraima, Brazil. This is the first report for Tx. guadeloupensis using Ae. aegypti oviposition traps as breeding places. This finding may have important consequences in the epidemiology and local dengue control since Ae. aegypti density is a basic variable in dengue prediction. Whether predation of Ae aegypti by Tx. guadeloupensis in the Amazon is of significance, is a question to be examined. Also, larval predation may be a cause for underestimation of the actual Ae aegypti numbers. Together these hypotheses need to be better investigated as they are directly related to dengue epidemiology, to the success of any outbreak prediction and surveillance program.
Depto. Entomologia, Laboratório de Transmissores de Hematozoários, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21045-900, Brazil.
Nildimar A
NA
Honório
Fábio S M
FS
de Barros
Pantelis
P
Tsouris
Maria G
MG
Rosa-Freitas
D000330:Aedes / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000469:parasitology*; D000818:Animals; D009033:Culicidae / Q000502:physiology*; D007814:Larva / Q000469:parasitology; D010058:Oviposition; D011235:Predatory Behavior