THE RATE OF FOOD-CONSUMPTION AND ITS RELATION TO MORPHOMETRIC PARAMETERS IN LARVAE OF 2 MALARIA MOSQUITO SPECIES (DIPTERA, CULICIDAE)

The rate of consumption of graphite particles and its relation to body length, thorax and head width, and number of teeth on the stigmal pla te were studied in fourth instar larvae of two malaria mosquito specie s, Anopheles messeae and A. beklemishevi Stegny et Kab. In spite of th eir narrower head (p < 0.001), the larvae of A. beklemishevi filled th eir intestine faster than larvae of A. messeae, and males of both spec ies did so more rapidly than conspecific females (in all cases, p < 0. 001). The rate of food consumption by larvae of both species decreased with an increase in their body length and thorax width. In A. messeae , the rate of filling the intestine negatively correlated with the num ber of pecten teeth on the stigmal plate, whereas in the other species this correlation was absent. Both species displayed negative correlat ions between the rate of graphite consumption and asymmetry.