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CHANGES IN MOSQUITO FLIGHT ASSOCIATED WITH NATURAL CHANGES IN POLARIZED LIGHT

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

W. G. Wellington
W. G. Wellington
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Science and Institute of Animal Resource Ecology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
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Abstract

Diurnal activity of Aedes and Culex spp. was observed near Banff, Alta., and Hope, B.C., when naturally polarized light was present, reduced, or absent in relatively open habitats. Resting mosquitoes attacked as soon as they were approached closely, whether or not polarized light was present. In contrast, mosquitoes made long, roving flights only when there was polarized light overhead. Roving flight stopped whenever zenith polarization was disrupted by passing clouds or by the unpolarized glare surrounding the sun. As overhead polarization is most intense near sunrise and sunset, it could be employed then by mosquitoes travelling to and from feeding or oviposition sites.

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Type
Articles
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The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 106 , Issue 9 , September 1974, pp. 941 - 948
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1974

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