Oviposition by Anopheles melas and its effect on egg survival during the dry season in the Gambia, West Africa
Giglioli, M.E.C.
Annals of the Entomological Society of America 58(6): 885-891
1965
ISSN/ISBN: 0013-8746 PMID: 5836875 Accession: 014594908
The following is virtually the author's abstract. Anopheles melas Theo, oviposits after dark in the first half of the night on damp mud under Avicennia mangrove during neap tides in the Gambia . During oviposition, the abdomen is usually slanted, with the eighth segment held vertical to the substrate. Eggs appear rhythmically every 10-12 seconds, in two distinct movements of extrusion and ejection; 8-10 seconds elapse between these two movements, during which the egg is inseminated. Eggs are laid on damp substrate rather than on surface waters, in three characteristic patterns; eggs laid in clumps by stationary females had less chance of survival under the desiccating conditions of the dry season than those laid in lines or scattered at random.