THE FECUNDITY OF AEDES HEXODONTUS DYAR (CULICIDAE) IN THE LABORATORY

Abstract

The numbers of eggs laid by 654 Aedes hexodontus females, captured in the field, were examined under laboratory conditions in relation to three variables: nutrition, weight, and date of capture of the individuals. Females were weighed before and after engorging with blood and maintained in individual cages at a constant temperature of 20 °C. The mean fecundity of 198 females was 62.3 ± 2.16 eggs. A blood meal was necessary for oviposition in 95% of the individuals. Five per cent of the females oviposited without a blood meal. A diet of a single blood meal and water was insufficient for oviposition and either sugar or raisins was required to supplement the single blood meal. There was a definite correlation between weight and fecundity. Vertebrate blood was a stimulus to egg development. A critical minimum amount of blood was required to initiate ovulation, but blood in excess of this did not increase the number of eggs. No correlation was shown between the fecundity of females in the laboratory and the date of their capture.