Susceptibility of Aedes aegypti and Anopheles quadrimaculatus larvae to infection with the cercariae of Plagiorchis noblei (Trematoda: Plagiorchiidae)
Webber, R.A.; Rau, M.E.; Lewis, D.J.
Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 3(2): 193-195
1987
ISSN/ISBN: 8756-971X PMID: 3504909 Document Number: 303990
The impact of interspecific behavioural differences on the relative susceptibility of 3rd-instar larvae of Aedes aegypti and Anopheles quadrimaculatus to infection by cercariae of Plagiorchis noblei was studied. When permitted to move freely in a column of water, larvae of Aedes aegypti were significantly more susceptible to infection by the parasite than were those of Anopheles quadrimaculatus. This difference was ascribed to the significantly greater free-ranging activity of Aedes aegypti. Since the cercariae were suspended in the water, particularly near the bottom, contact with the active larvae of A. aegypti was greater than with the surface-frequenting larvae of Anopheles quadrimaculatus. Infection rates of immobilized larvae were similar for both mosquito species.