Prey and Feeding Behavior of Larval <I>Culex</I> (<I>Lutzia</I>) <I>fuscanus</I> (Diptera: Culicidae) in Shantou, Guangdong Province, China

Abstract

Six taxa of prey were identified from the gut contents of 973 Culex (Lutzia) fuscanus Wiedemann (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae collected from 19 sites in Shantou, Guangdong Province, China, from May to October 2004. Chironomidae were found in the guts of 78.6% of Cx. fuscanus larvae but mosquito larval remains in only 2.5%. The junction between prey head and thorax was the most frequent attack site in field (125/169 = 73.9%) and laboratory (187/260 = 71.9%) observations.