Abstract

A preliminary study was made of overwintering mechanisms and phenology of 2 common eastern United States mosquitoes: Culex restuans Theobald and Culex salinarius Coquillett. The seasonal distribution of adult activity of the 2 species was established by the month by month plotting of collection records gleaned from 170 published articles. Colonized females of each species were subjected to simulated fall conditions of temperature and photoperiod. C. restuans showed a marked reduction of blood feeding and exhibited gonotrophic dissociation in response to conditioning by short photoperiod and low temperature (15° and 20°C). C. salinarius females showed a significant reduction of blood-feeding under conditions of short photoperiod, but only at the lowest conditioning temperature (15°C) and did not exhibit gonotrophic dissociation. The authors suggest that both species undergo a true diapause but that qualitative and quantitative differences contribute to the generally more northern distribution of C. restuans. The implication of diapause to overwinter survival of arboviruses is discussed.

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