AGE-DEPENDENT SELECTION AND ABILITY FOR C ANNIBALISM IN MALARIA MOSQUITO LARVAE WITH DIFFERENT KARYOTYPES

The ability of Anopheles mosquito larvae (Diptera, Culicidae) to feed on younger larvae of the same species was studied. It was demonstrated that the ability for cannibalism in A. messeae populations is higher than in populations of A. beklemishevi mosquitoes (a sympatric species ). A. messeae larvae with ''northern'' karyotypes (r-strategists) cons umed their victims more rapidly than larvae carrying ''southern'' chro mosome inversions (K-strategists). Certain physiological and morpholog ical parameters of cannibals with different karyotypes were determined . The role of cannibalism in age-dependent selection is discussed.