Temperature and Salinity as Factors Influencing the Size and Reproductive Potentials of Aedes dorsalis (Diptera: Culicidae)1

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Abstract
Effects of temperature and salinity are based on experiments with females of Aedes dorsalis Meigen that emerged from media containing 0 to 25,000 ppm NaCl at 21, 25, and 30°C. The influence of temperature on the size of the individuals and their reproductive potentials interacted significantly with the salinity of the medium. On the average, females that emerged from media without added salt at 21°C were the largest (3.86 ± 0.03 mm) and deposited the greatest number of eggs (225 ± 32 per female). Those reared in media without added salt at 30°C were the smallest, even smaller than the females that emerged from media containing large amounts (20,000 ppm). Irrespective of the salinity of the medium, stress at 30°C also caused a significant reduction in wing length and numbers of eggs deposited as compared with effects of 21 and 25°C. Other evidence of thermally induced deficiencies were increases in the intervals between intake of blood meals and ovipositional efforts.