Observations on Mosquitoes Ovipositing in Small Containers in Zika Forest, Uganda

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Abstract
A field study of preferred ovipositionsites of tree-hole-breeding culicine mosquitoes. Bamboo sections were exposed along horizontal and vertical transects inside and outside lakeside forest, the canopy of which was at 70-80 ft (21-24m). Site-preference was deduced from distribution of larvae and pupae (28057 involving 12 species), allowance being made for predation by Toxorhynchites. Exposure to light apparently determined the observed distribution of Toxorhynchites brevipalpis and Culex nebulosus, but height above ground per se the distribution of Aedes africanus and A. apicoargenteus. Preferred levels for oviposition and biting are the same (understorey) in A. apicoargenteus but different (ground and canopy) in A. agricanus. In forest at ground level the main prey of brevipalpis was C. nebulosus and A. africanus; above ground level C. nebulosus and A. apicoargenteus. Two distinct phases of prey-destruction exist in Toxorhynchites larvae. Estimates of predation in the first phase indicated that laevae of A. apicoargenteus, A. africanus and C. nebulosus were suffering reductions of 27, 30 and 38%.