Identifying the Terminal Growth Phase in Mosquitoes

We initially had great difficulty rearing larvae through the 4th instar. We hypothesized that larvae suffered from a local pathogen, and spent weeks refining protocols to circumvent this problem. In late September, we switched to a different larval food supplier, and have now reared larvae to adulthood. Preliminary trials indicate that the TGP occurs essentially at the onset of the final (4th) larval instar and lasts ~four days at 22C. Trials are currently underway to quantify the degree and pattern of intra- and interspecific nutritionally-induced phenotypic plasticity in the size of morphological traits and the body.