An experimental study of decomposing mosquito larvae as a supplemental nutrition source for living larvae

Studies have shown that detritus type can influence larval development as well as interspecific competition in mosquitoes. Larvae with access to an additional nutritional source are able to develop quicker and with a higher mass than if they had not received the additional food source. Some previous studies have relied on adult invertebrate mass to provide animal detritus, specifically utilizing adult Drosophila melanogaster. The inherent relationship between larval survival and the quantity of nutritional resources available to the larvae can be combined with the fact that dead larvae provide an extra source of animal detritus in container systems. We examined the effects of this additional nutrient resource on the growth and development of Aedes aegypti larvae.Larvae that do not survive to the pupal stage act as an additional nutritional source to the remaining larvae. Microcosms with 20 first instar Aedes aegypti larvae were provided with the laboratory recommended amount of food for one week. Following this week, half of the microcosms were supplemented with animal detritus in the form of mechanically killed Aedes aegypti larvae of the same developmental stage. This additional nutrient resource had no effect on male mass but did increase female mass. Both male and female development times were decreased with the addition of this animal detritus. Because both interspecific and intraspecific competition influence mortality, the resulting dead larvae may skew the resulting life history parameters of development time and adult mass and must be considered when modeling such interactions.