We evaluated a hypothesis on the existence of two ecological groups of
mosquito larvae. One group inhabits bodies of water on the ground, su
ch as ponds, ditches and marshes, and exhibits fast development and a
limited ability to prolong development under feeding stress. The other
group inhabits small containers such as leaf axils of plants, treehol
es and man-made containers, and exhibits slower development and the ab
ility to prolong immature development under feeding stress. We measure
d development time in larvae of 14 species of mosquitoes and resistanc
e to starvation in 22 species of mosquitoes from Venezuela. They inhab
ited structures of six species of plants (phytotelmata), one type of a
rtificial container, and two ground-water habitats. The ground-water m
osquito larvae (from temporary and permanent pools) exhibited the fast
est development and lowest resistance to starvation, as predicted. The
phytotelm mosquitoes exhibited the slowest development and greatest r
esistance to starvation, with some exceptions. Mosquitoes that coloniz
e plant structures late in succession showed a lesser resistance to st
arvation than those that colonize during early succession. In man-made
containers, mosquito species originally from phytotelmata [e.g. Aedes
aegypti (L.)] showed greater resistance to starvation than did mosqui
to species originally from ground-water habitats (e.g. Culex quinquefa
sciatus Say), however development times for the two groups were simila
r. Rather than two discrete groups of mosquitoes, there is a diversity
of traits related to selective pressures operating in the diverse aqu
atic habitats of the mosquito larvae.