Biological control of mosquito larvae using naiad of ruddy marsh skimmer Crocothemis servilia Pahari Priti Ranjan*, Chakrabortty Debashis, Mandal Biplab1, Bhattacharya Tanmay1 PG Department of Zoology, Tamralipta Mahavidyalaya, Tamluk, 721636, Purba Medinipur, West Bengal 1Department of Zoology, Vidyasagar University, Midnapore, 721102, West Bengal *Corresponding author Email: priti.pahari@rediffmail.com
Online published on 5 February, 2019. Abstract The naiads of Crocothemis servilia (Drury) feed only on larvae of Culex quiniquefasciatus and both larvae and pupae of Aedes aegypti under laboratory condition. It prefers 2nd instar larva over other instars of C. quiniquefasciatus and for 3rd instar larvae of A. aegypti. These exhibited higher predation rate during day time. The diurnal clearance rate was significantly higher than the nocturnal one for both the species. Maximum clearance rate was observed during first hour of predation. Results indicate that C. servilia could be used as a potential biocontrol agent against mosquito larvae. Top Keywords Crocothemis servilia, biocontrol, Culex quiniquefasciatus, Aedes aegypti, prey instars, predation rate, diurnal clearance rate. Top |