The application of geometric morphometry on mosquito wings (Culicidae) is considered a powerful tool for evaluating correlations between the phenotype (e.g., shape) and environmental or genetic variables. However, this has not been used to study the wings of the avian malaria vector, Culiseta longiareolata. Therefore, the goal of this study is to investigate the intra-specific wing variations between male and female Cs. longiareolata populations in different types of larval habitats and climatic conditions in Algeria. A total of 256 Cs. longiareolata mosquito samples were collected from January 2020 to July 2021 in three cities (Annaba, El-Tarf, and Guelma) of northeastern Algeria that have two distinct climatic condition levels (sub-humid and sub-arid) and different types of larval habitats (artificial and natural). Nineteen (19) wing landmarks (LMs) were digitized and analyzed based on geometric morphometry. Our results revealed differences in the wing shape of female and male mosquito populations, indicating sexual dimorphism. Moreover, canonical variance analysis (CVA) showed that factors, such as climatic conditions and type of larval habitats, also affect the wing shape of female and male Cs. longiareolata mosquito populations. Furthermore, the wing shape of male populations was more distinct compared with female populations.

No abstract

The aqueous fruit extracts of the pepper Capsicum annuum L. (Solanales: Solanceae) were tested against the four larval stages of the tomato leafminer (TLM) Tuta absoluta Povolny (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae). Random samplings were made from two greenhouses of Biskra, in the Southeast of Algeria. About 750 to 800 plants of the Sahara variety of tomatoes were planted in both greenhouses. In the laboratory, conditions with temperature, relative humidity (RH) and the photoperiod were 25° to 30°C, from 50% to 60% and 16L: 8D, respectively. A breeding of our species in the laboratory was made during six months of the study. For the toxicological assessments, three concentrations were chosen; 50 mg/L, 100 mg/L and 200 mg/L of the extracts. The results revealed that the extracts of C. annuum were very effective against the larvae of T. absoluta. After 24 h post-treatment, the mortality was less than 25% compared to that after 48h and 72h post-treatment which exceeded 50%. There was a non-significant difference in mortality rates between the four larval stages (F3, 140 = 1.12; P = 0.344). In contrast, highly significant differences existed between the time of exposure (F2, 141 = 26.2; P = 0.001) and the concentrations under study (F3, 140 = 59.6; P = 0.001). J. bio-sci. 26: 25-30, 2018