THE INFLUENCE OF ESTIVATION IN LAND SNAILS ON THE LARVAL DEVELOPMENT OF MUELLERIUS CF CAPILLARIS (METASTRONGYLOIDEA, PROTOSTRONGYLIDAE)

The larval development of Muellerius cf. capillaris in aestivating Tro choidea seetzenii and Theba pisana was delayed: in the first snail 82% of the parasites remained as second-stage larvae (L2) after as much a s 90 days, and in the second snail 60% remained as L2 after 50 days. R eactivation of T. seetzenii after 59 days of aestivation caused the la rvae to develop to the third stage (L3). The number of recovered larva e among T. seetzenii was consistently higher in active vs aestivating snail (P < 0.05). Such differences were not evident among T. pisana (P > 0.05). In active T. pisana, larval development was faster than in a ctive T. seetzenii, whereas there were no such differences between aes tivating snails of these 2 species. Aestivating infected T. seetzenii had lower body weights than same-size active non-infected, as well as infected snails. Aestivating infected T. pisana were not weighed, but they too exhibited poor body condition. Copyright (C) 1996 Australian Society for Parasitology.