THE RATE OF FOOD CONSUMPTION AND ITS RELATION TO MORPHOMETRIC PARAMETERS IN LARVAE OF TWO MALARIA MOSQUITO SPECIES (DIPTERA : CULICIDAE)

The rate of consumption of graphite particles and its relation to body length, thorax and head width, and number of teeth on the stigmal plate were studied in fourth instar larvae of two malaria mosquito species, Anopheles messeae and A. beklemishevi Stegny et Kab. In spite of their narrower head ( p < 0.001), the larvae of A. beklemishevi filled their intestine faster than larvae of A. messeae , and males of both species did so more rapidly than conspecific females (in all cases, p < 0.001). The rate of food consumption by larvae of both species decreased with an increase in their body length and thorax width. In A. messeae , the rate of filling the intestine negatively correlated with the number of pecten teeth on the stigmal plate, whereas in the other species this cor- relation was absent. Both species displayed negative correlations between the rate of graphite consumption and asymmetry.