Studies on environmentally-induced colour variation inSimulium sirbanum(Diptera: Simuliidae) using a portable rearing system
Year: 1992
Type: article
Abstract: Previous studies on the morphological identification of adult female Simulium damnosum s.l. have involved use of colour characters. To determine the degree to which these qualitative characters are influenced by the physical environment, a portable rearing system was constructed. Wild-caught female flies and flies emerging from pupae maintained at ambient temperatures or above showed entirely pale antennae, fore-coxae, wing-tufts and hairs on the scutellum and ninth abdominal tergite, as is normal for S. sirbanum. Adults reared from larvae at below ambient temperatures were also pale, except for the antennae which were dark in all specimens. Adult females emerging from pupae maintained at below ambient temperatures were entirely pale up to the fourth day of emergence and mostly with dark antennae. The biological significance and the implications to the morphological identification of the savannah species of the S. damnosum complex in West Africa are discussed.
Authors: M. D. Wilson, R. J. Post, D. A. Boakye
Institution: University of Salford
Language: English
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W1960638831