BREEDING PLACES OF AEDES SCAPULARIS (DIPT ERA, CULICIDAE) IN ARTIFICIAL CONTAINERS

Breeding places of Aedes scapularis were found in the Ilha Comprida an d Pariquera-Acu counties of S. Paulo State, Brazil. They included seve ral types of artificial water container. As 270 (250 larvae and 20 pup ae) immature forms were collected, the hypothesis is raised that behav ioral change is occurring as a secondary adaptation, as a consequence of the anthropic environment. This tends toward a reduction in ground breeding places and, at the same time, to an increase in the number of artificial containers. So the synanthropic tendence of thus mosquito may be favored by or even be a result of the man-made environment. Ref erence is made to the epidemiological consequences of this phenomenon for encephalitis transmission specifically for the Southeastern region of Brazil.