Fitness of a Treehole Mosquito: Influences of Food Type and Predation

Leaves and flowers, the two main components of oak litter, were compared in the laboratory as growth substrates for larval Aedes triseriatus. Time to pupation was significantly faster and adult size significantly greater when flowers were the resource. Fitness, as measured by a composite index of performance (r'), was significantly higher among cohorts reared on flowers. A subsequent field experiment compared r' of cohorts developing in water-holding automobile tires, a common alternative habitat for treehole mosquitoes