Frequency-dependent prey selection by larvae of Toxorhynchites splendens (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract

AbstractThe foraging behaviour of frequency-dependent prey selection by larval instars of Toxorhynchites splendens (Wiedemann) was studied in the laboratory. Prey size selection (second vs fourth instars of Aedes aegypti Linnaeus or Anopheles stephensi Liston) by third and fourth instar predators was frequency-dependent. However, in the case of second instar predators, prey size selection was not frequency-dependent and the predator preferred second instar to fourth instar prey. When offered second instars of Aedes aegypti and Anopheles stephensi the preference for one species over the other was frequency-dependent in all the three predator instars. The role of frequency-dependent prey selection in the stability of prey—predator interaction at low equilibrium levels is discussed.