Colonization of Rice Fields by Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) and Larvivorous Predators in Asynchronous Rice Cultivation Areas in the Philippines

Abstract

Colonization of rice fields by mosquitoes and larvivorous predators was studied in asynchronous rice cultivation areas in the Philippines. Dipper samples were taken from rice fields at six phases of maturity (fallow, ploughed, nursery, newly transplanted, after tillering, mature). All phases were present concurrently at each of two study sites. Abundance levels of the vishnui subgroup of Culex and of the genus Anopheles were high in ploughed fields, nurseries, and newly transplanted fields; this was primarily because of the concentration of Culex vishnui Theobald and Anopheles vagus Doenitz in those fields with short, sparse vegetation. Dytiscidae, Anisoptera, and Zygoptera were more abundant in fallow or mature fields. The abundance of aquatic predators decreased at the onset of ploughing and then recovered slowly as rice plants grew. The abundance of surface predators showed a similar pattern, but less conspicuously. The abundance of nonpredators (other than mosquitoes) was relatively stable with regard to rice field phases. Alleviation of mortality by predation was considered to be a secondary cause of increased mosquito abundance in the fields under early phases of rice cultivation.