Utilização de larvas de toxorhinchites sp (diptera: culicidae) no controle de larvas de mosquitos vetores de doenças.

Abstract

The use of invertebrates as mosquito vector controllers aims at the possibility of applying a low-cost, non-polluting control methodology that does not affect the ecosystem (Figueiredo, 1989). Toxorhinchites sp. are Culicidae that usually phytophagous as adults and predate on other invertebrates in the same habitat during the larval stage. This work aims to observe some aspects of the ecology of this diptera, as well as its predatory behavior in the laboratory. Collections are being made in a small strip of forest within the research campus of MPEG. We are using bamboo nesting sites distributed at ground level, 1,2,3,4 and 5 meters high. The Toxorhinchites sp larvae found are kept in the laboratory and fed on Culicini and Sabetini larvae. A preference by females to oviposit in ground level breeding sites was observed in the field. Laboratory tests showed that Toxorhinchites sp larvae have a higher mean predation rate on Sabetini larvae than on Culicini larvae.