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Aggregated oviposition in the Simulium damnosum complex is mediated by eggs in a laboratory bioassay
Author(s) -
McCALL P. J.,
TREES A. J.,
WALSH J. F.,
MOLYNEUX D. H.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
medical and veterinary entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2915
pISSN - 0269-283X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2915.1994.tb00390.x
Subject(s) - biology , bioassay , simulium , zoology , ecology , larva
Abstract. . The phenomenon of aggregated oviposition in blackflies (Diptera: Simuliidae) was investigated under controlled laboratory conditions, using wild‐caught females of the Simulium damnosum complex in Sierra Leone. A method was developed for inducing Simulium females to lay eggs, and used as a bioassay to measure the responses of gravid S. damnosum s.l. to freshly laid eggs of the same species complex. In a series of two‐choice tests, significantly more ovipositing flies chose substrates already containing eggs over control substrates ( P = 0.004). The time from introduction of flies into the oviposition system to the onset of egg‐laying was significantly less when eggs were already present ( P = 0.049). Flies responded more quickly when more eggs were present and the relationship between egg‐batch number and the time of this response was curvilinear ( P = 0.012). Ecological advantages and disadvantages of such aggregation behaviour and the possible role of semiochemicals in its mediation are discussed.