Susobhan Datta Mudi, Goutam Kumar Saha, Gautam Aditya

Mosquito egg raft predation by dragonfly larva: prospects for biological control

Santrauka This study documents mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) egg raft consumption by a dragonfly larva (Odonata: Anisoptera). Identified as Pantala sp., the dragonfly larva consumed about seven egg rafts of the culicine mosquito Culex tritaeniorhynchus in mosquito-rearing trays. The average time taken by the larvae for consumption of an egg raft (egg count 132.333 ± 13.642, length 3.19 ± 0.317 mm, mean ± SE) was 56.57 ± 2.22 seconds (n = 7). While mosquito egg predators are known from different taxonomic groups, the present observation provides evidence for an alternative mode of biological control for mosquitoes, considering that dragonfly and mosquito larvae coexist in similar habitats.

Doi https://doi.org/10.35513/21658005.2025.2.3

Raktažodžiai Egg raft predation; Odonata; Culex tritaeniorhynchus; conservation biological control