CHARACTERIZATION OF ANOPHELES-DARLINGI (DIPTERA, CULICIDAE) LARVAL HABITATS IN BELIZE, CENTRAL-AMERICA

Surveys for larvae of Anopheles darling Root were conducted in April, May, and August 1994 in riverine habitats of central Belize (Cayo and Belize districts). An. darlingi was present during both the dry and we t seasons. Larvae were encountered most frequently in patches of float ing debris along river margins. The floating mats were often formed by bamboo hanging over the banks and dense submersed bamboo roots. Larva e were found less frequently in lake margins, small lagoons, and groun d pools with submersed roots and patches of floating leaves or vegetat ion. In addition to their association with floating debris, larvae of An. darlingi were associated positively with shade and submersed plant s in riverine environments. Samples from river habitats showed the lar vae of Anopheles albimanus Wiedemann to be strongly associated with su n-exposed sites containing green or blue-green algae. Unlike An. darli ngi, An. albimanus was an ubiquitous mosquito, the immatures of which occurred in a wide variety of riverine and nonriverine aquatic habitat s. Based on published reports and our experience, the association of A n. darling with river systems was verified, and its distribution in Ce ntral America and Mexico was mapped.