Laboratory Observations on the Predation of Toxorhynchites Rutilus Rutilus on Aedes Aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract

Laboratory tests indicated that the predatory activity of 4th-instar Toxorhynchites rutilus rutilus larvae is affected by the size of container, prey density and prey stage. The rate of prey consumption was found to vary inversely with container size and directly with prey density; the incidence of killing behavior, where the prey is killed but not consumed, varied in a similar fashion. The predators, during the 4th instar, consumed less prey pupae than 4th instars, and more 1st- than 4th-instar larvae. While consumption rates varied considerably, pupal weights or development times of the predator could not be correlated with total or daily prey consumption.