Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-xbtfd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T15:23:36.724Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Crepuscular biting activity of mosquitoes at Peradeniya, Sri Lanka

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

F. P. Amerasinghe
F. P. Amerasinghe
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Thirty-four spedes of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) were collected at a series of human-bait catches designed to study evening crepuscular biting activity using the Nielsen crep unit, at a site at Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Crepuscular biting profiles of seven species (Armigeres subalbatus, Aedes albopictus, Culex pseudovishnui, Cx. gelidus, Cx. fuscocephala, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus and Mansonia uniformis) were obtained. Modal periods for the onset of biting were analysed in six species: Cx. pseudovishnui, Cx. fuscocephala, Cx. gelidus, Cx. tritaeniorhynchus, Cx. quinquefasciatus and Ma. uniformis. Successions in the biting peaks and in modal onset of biting were seen in these species. Analysis of biting in Ar. subalbatus and Cx. pseudovishnui under high (clear sky) and low (cloud-overcast sky) light intensities showed earlier biting in both species under the latter conditions. The value of the Nielsen crep unit in making latitudinal comparisons is illustrated in Ma. uniformis, for which parallel data are available from Africa.

Keywords

AedesArmigerescrepuscular biting activityCulexMansoniamosquitoesNielsen crep unitsSri Lanka
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 4 , Issue 3 , August 1988 , pp. 271 - 280
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1988

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Amerasinghe, F. P. 1982. Observations on the mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) of Udawattakele Forest, Sri Lanka. Journal of the National Science Council of Sri Lanka 10(1):81–98.Google Scholar
Amerasinghe, F. P. & Munasingha, N. B. Further observations on the mosquito fauna of Udawattakele Forest, Sri Lanka. Ceylon Journal of Science (Biological Science). VoL 17 (in press).Google Scholar
Conover, W. J. 1971. Practical nonparametric statistics. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York. 462 pp.Google Scholar
Haddow, A. J. 1964. Observations on the biting-habits of mosquitoes in the forest canopy at Zika, Uganda, with special reference to the crepuscular periods. Bulletin of Entomological Research 55:589–608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haddow, A. J., Casley, D. J. L., O'Sullivan, J. P., Ardoin, P. M. L., Ssenkubuge, Y. & Kitama, A. 1968. Entomological studies from a high steel tower in Zika Forest, Uganda. Part II. The biting activity of mosquitoes above the forest canopy in the hour after sunset. Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London 120(9):219–236.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huang, Y-M. 1972. Contributions to the mosquito fauna of Southeast Asia. XIV. The subgenus Stegomyia of Aedes in Southeast Asia. 1 – The Scutellaris group of species. Contributions of the American Entomological Institute 9(1):1–108.Google Scholar
Lumsden, W. H. R. 1952. The crepuscular biting activity of insects in the forest canopy in Bwamba, Uganda. A study in relation to the sylvan epidemiology of yellow fever. Bulletin of Entomological Research 42:721–760.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nielsen, E. T. 1961. Twilight and the ‘crep unit’. Nature, London 190:878–879.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nielsen, E. T. 1963. Illumination at Twilight. Oikos 14:9–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peiris, J. S. M., Perera, L. P., Amerasinghe, F. P. & Munasingha, N. B. 1986a. Studies on arbovirus infections in the Kandy and Mahaweli System C areas. Proceedings of the Sri Lanka Medical Association 99:61 (Abstract).Google Scholar
Peiris, J. S. M., Perera, L. P., Arunagiri, C. K. & Amerasinghe, F. P. 1986b. Arboviruses in Sn Lanka. Proceedings of the First International Conference on the Impact of Viral Diseases on the Development of Asian Countries. Bangkok, Thailand, p. 177 (Abstract).Google Scholar
Reinert, J. F. 1975. Mosquito generic and subgenenc abbreviations (Diptera: Culicidae). Mosquito Systematics 7(2):105–110.Google Scholar
Service, M. W. 1969. Observations on the ecology of some British mosquitoes. Bulletin of Entomological Research 59:161–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Service, M. W. 1976. Mosquito ecology. Field sampling methods. Applied Science Publishers, England, xii + 583 pp.Google Scholar
Service, M. W. 1977. Ecological and biological studies on Aedes cantans (Meig.) (Dipera: Culicidae) in southern England. Journal of Applied Ecology 14(1): 159–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sirivanakarn, S. 1976. Medical entomology studies – III. A revision of the subgenus Culex in the Oriental region (Dipera: Culicidae). Contributions of the American Entomological Institute 12(2): 1–272.Google Scholar