WING BIOMETRY AND STATISTICAL DISCRIMINANT-ANALYSIS AS A TECHNIQUE TODETERMINE SEX OF A CULEX-PIPIENS (DIPTERA, CULICIDAE) GYNANDROMORPH

Gynandromorphism in mosquitoes is an infrequent phenomenon which may h ave useful applications in mosquito physiology embryology, and genetic s, and it could alsb provide valuable material for the development of nonchemical control methods. To study the bilateral sexual expression on the thorax of a damaged, wild-caught northern house mosquito, Culex pipiens L., 1758 gynandromorph, statistical discriminant analysis was required. The genotypic sex of each wing was assessed by comparing it with a large database of 1,490 C. pipiens individuals for 4 sexually dimorphic wing vein parameters. Both wings were classified as female; therefore, it was concluded that the thorax boundary line was not obli que but rather transverse. The importance of database-linked statistic al identification is also discussed.