Mosquitos dendrícolas (Diptera, Culicidae) em internódios de taquara da Floresta Atlântica, Serra do Mar e do Primeiro Planalto, Paraná, Brasil

Abstract

During two consecutive years, from january 1985 to december 1986, studies were carried out on mosquitoes living in the internodes of bamboo in two distinct regions, the Atlantic Forest of the Serra do Mar and the First Plateau, both in the state of Paraná, Brazil. These dendricolous habitats are very different from other recorded mosquito breeding sites. The internodes of the green, living bamboo are closed reservoirs of water with only some small, lateral holes made by boring insects Eucalyptra barbara Schaus, 1894 and Eucalyptra fumida Schaus, 1894 (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae), and other animals. The water in the internodes derives from the bamboo itself. These are the first observations of this breeding behavior. Some females entirely enter the hole to oviposit while others dont't. Similar, artificially constructed habitats were studied at the same time by producing transvere openings and introducing water into the reservoir. Seventeen species of dendricolous mosquitoes were observed utilizing this unique habitat. Additional studies have elaborated other behavioral aspects of these mosquitoes.

Keywords

• Culicidae
• Diptera
• ecologia
• mosquitos dendrícolas
• taquara
• bamboo
• Culicidae
• dendricolous mosquitoes
• Diptera
• ecology