Resource Limitation of Larval Treehole Mosquitoes Subsisting on Beech Detritus

Mechanisms of larval population regulation in the detritivorous treehole mosquito Aedes triseriatus were explored experimentally, using laboratory microcosms of the treehole ecosystem. Quantity of beech leaf litter strongly limited growth, survivorship, and development rates of larvae. Little support was found for the hypothesis that an excreted substance causes density—dependent responses of larval A. triseriatus populations. Such an effect, if it exists, is much weaker than resource limitation.