Influence of light and habitat on predation of Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae by the waterbugs (Hemiptera: Heteroptera)

Abstract

The influence of light and habitat structure on the predation of Culex quinquefasciatus larvae by the common heteropteran water bug, Diplonychus (=Sphaerodema) annulatus, D. rusticus and Anisops bouvieri was assessed in the laboratory. It was revealed that water bugs predate more in presence of light than in dark conditions. While A. bouvieri consumed more prey in structured conditions, D. annulatus and D. rusticus consumed more prey in open conditions. The selection of prey size as well as the respective numbers varied between predators and treatments significantly. Prey vulnerability (PV), an indicator of predatory efficiency, was highest for D. annulatus, moderate for D. rusticus and low for A. bouvieri. Prey consumption and PV values under different treatment conditions indicate that for belostomatid water bugs D. annulatus and D. rusticus, the order of prey consumption under different habitat and light/dark combinations is light open > dark open > light vegetated > dark vegetated. In the case of the backswimmer, A. bouvieri, the order of prey consumption appeared to be light structured > dark structured > light open > dark open. These findings were consistent with resource‐partitioning by water bug species sharing the same guild. If the observed results are extended to natural settings the efficiency of these predators in controlling mosquito populations will vary with the structural complexity of habitats and the intensity of light.

Distribution of mosquito larvae in rice field habitats: a spatial scale analysis in semi-field condition

“…While the paddy plants and floating detritus of varied origins are utilized by the macroinvertebrates like mosquito larvae, the predators face the difficulty in chasing the prey in refuge. Empirical estimates suggest that the habitat complexity and availability of light influence the efficacy of the insect predators against mosquito immature (Saha et al, 2008(Saha et al, , 2009. The observations on the numbers of mosquito larvae in the unit spaces reflect the effects of the light and vegetation as factors influencing the spatial distribution.…”

“…The habitat in the rice fields is complex owing to the presence of the paddy plants and physical structures including the sediment and the detritus. Often the mosquito larvae and co-occurring organisms utilize the physical structures as a refuge thereby altering the possible interactions within and between organisms (Saha et al, 2008(Saha et al, , 2009. In order to evade…”

“…the predation pressure or utilize food resources in the available space, mosquito larvae can be found associated with the refuges, thereby denying the predators access (Saha et al, 2009;Ohba et al, 2013;Watanabe et al, 2013). Empirical evidence suggests that the vulnerability of the mosquito larvae to the insect and fish predators is affected by the heterogeneity in the habitat conditions arising from the presence of the plants, twigs, and detritus (Saha et al, 2008(Saha et al, , 2009Aditya et al, 2012). Habitat complexity of the rice fields is, therefore, a factor that can affect the interactions of the predators and the mosquito prey and determine the success of the regulation of the target mosquito.…”

Effects of water bugs on crustacean zooplankton in a shallow littoral zone

“…Previous observations have devoted much attention to the Notonectidae, which have a significant influence on the regulation of water invertebrates and even young fish and amphibians (Louarn and Cloarec, 1997;Kopp et al, 2006;Vandekerkhove et al, 2012). It has been demonstrated that they can be effective regulators of mosquitoes and help to control them, and that, if necessary, they can also feed on Chironomidae (Saha et al, 2008(Saha et al, , 2010. As shown in small water bodies, they can regulate the abundance and diversity of the entire invertebrate population (including plankton), as confirmed by experiments similar to those presented in our study (Eitam and Blaustein, 2010).…”

“…Such information can be found in only a few works (Dieguez and John, 2003;Bourkal, 2012, 2013). These, however, have focused on predation by only one Heteroptera family, the Notonectidae, mainly in the context of predation on Culicidae larvae (Dieguez and John, 2003;Eitam and Blaustein, 2004;Saha et al, 2008;Eitam and Blaustein, 2010). As water bugs are abundant in the shallow littoral of lakes (Płaska, 2012), it therefore seems that they may play an important role in shaping the qualitative and quantitative structure of zooplankton.…”