Wyeomyia smithii | |
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Female | |
Wyeomyia smithii larva magnified 40× | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Diptera |
Family: | Culicidae |
Subfamily: | Culicinae |
Tribe: | Sabethini |
Genus: | Wyeomyia |
Species: | W. smithii |
Binomial name | |
Wyeomyia smithii Coquillett, 1901 | |
Wyeomyia smithii, the pitcher plant mosquito, is an inquiline mosquito that completes its pre-adult life cycle in the phytotelma of—that is, the water contained by—the purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea . In this microcommunity of bacteria, rotifers, protozoa, and midges, W. smithii is the top-level predator; its presence determines the bacterial species diversity within the pitcher. [1]
W. smithii is not a pest mosquito in general. The northern US population does not consume blood at all, while the southern US populations only consume blood after laying an initial egg batch; [2] [3] even then they appear disinterested in feeding. In fact, it is the only known mosquito to have both obligatory biting and non-biting populations in the same species. [4]
The life cycle of Wyeomyia smithii begins in either late spring or early fall when the adult female lays her eggs in the phytotelma of a purple pitcher plant. The eggs then gestate in the pitcher plant anywhere from 1–8 days before they hatch as larvae. The larvae remain in the phytotelma feeding on bacteria, micro-animals, and decaying insects. The mosquito larvae will live in the pitcher plant until it goes through its fifth instar about 20 to 22 days after hatching. They then emerge as adult mosquitoes ready to mate. Wyeomyia smithii females will produce a clutch of fertilized eggs generally within two days of sexual maturity. Some populations in the southern United States have also been known to drink blood after producing their first clutch to help produce a second clutch; there are no reports of northern populations displaying this behavior, however. [5]
Wyeomyia smithii is a model organism for the study of photoperiodism, the biotic process of controlling seasonal life history events by measuring day length as a reliable predictor of the seasons. W. smithii enters a state of developmental arrest, larval diapause, that is initiated and maintained by short day lengths and averted or terminated by long day lengths. [6] There is speculation that global warming and the shortening of winters, W. smithii has been observed to now require shorter days before going dormant, this led to the theory that this is an example of microevolutionary selection; mosquitoes that waited longer to go dormant and which had a greater fitness have been favored. [7]
Photoperiodism in Wyeomyia smithii is believed in nature to examine the startling finding that climate change can force genetic change in plants and animals. Wyeomyia smithii lives through the winter as diapausing larvae in the leaves of the pitcher plant. The pitcher-plant mosquito enters a hibernal diapause as larvae. Which means, short days initiate and maintain diapause, and long days promote continuous development in diapausing larvae. The day length promotes 50% development and 50% diapause (the critical photoperiod) as the same for the initiation and termination of not developing in unchilled larvae. For the initiation of not developing, insects pass through a "sensitive period" during which day length is interpreted as long or short, which results in a diapause/no-diapause response. Wyeomyia smithii is photoperiodic while in diapause. The sensitive period is indefinitely long, and the effect of manipulating different light. Dark cycles can be assessed over weeks or months, instead of a few days. Wyeomyia smithii oviposits into and completes their entire preadult development only within the water-filled leaves of the carnivorous pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea. Throughout this range, W. smithii occupies a uniform microhabitat whose community composition remains highly consistent. The photoperiodic response has been exposed to various seasonal changes, both in situ and during postglacial dispersal. [8]
The purple pitcher plant ( Sarracenia purpurea ), which houses W. smithii, is known to be the most habitable pitcher plant for many different inquilines. At least 165 various species of insects, protozoa, algae, and other organisms can live within the purple pitcher plant. The plant has adapted to have fluid with a higher pH than other, more acidic, carnivorous pitcher plants. There is little fluid secreted by this plant in comparison to the rainwater it collects in its pitcher, which dilutes the solution and creates a more habitable environment for outside organisms. The plant's adaptation allowing it to host diverse life is an advantage to the mosquito because its larvae prey upon those organisms. The mosquitos also prey on the food that the pitcher plant catches, giving them a steady food source. [9]
The pitcher plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii, has been featured in scientific studies because of its co-evolution with the purple pitcher plant. The relationship between the two species highlights a genetic response to climate change, which details how a population can evolve at a quicker pace in order to make accommodations due to the changes in climate. The water-filled pitcher plant proved to be a suitable home for the mosquito in its habitat range. It is because both species can endure a temperate climate. This idea makes the pitcher plant the next option for this mosquito species to stay in its current domain. [10]
The relationship is beneficial for both species and allows them to continue to evolve together. The purple pitcher plant uses the mosquito for nutrients once the mosquitoes die off. And, these mosquitoes are no different than any other subspecies, in terms of attraction, they are drawn to water. The pitcher plant is filled with water and this is a type of environment that is used as a location for female mosquitoes to lay their eggs. Most pitcher plant mosquitoes tend to frequent a pitcher plant younger in age. Not only does the plant provide a steady source of food, it is a protective place for larvae to develop. [11]
Pitcher plants are several different carnivorous plants that have modified leaves known as pitfall traps—a prey-trapping mechanism featuring a deep cavity filled with digestive liquid. The traps of what are considered to be "true" pitcher plants are formed by specialized leaves. The plants attract and drown their prey with nectar.
Sarraceniaceae are a family of pitcher plants, belonging to order Ericales.
Sarracenia is a genus comprising 8 to 11 species of North American pitcher plants, commonly called trumpet pitchers. The genus belongs to the family Sarraceniaceae, which also contain the closely allied genera Darlingtonia and Heliamphora.
In animal dormancy, diapause is the delay in development in response to regular and recurring periods of adverse environmental conditions. It is a physiological state with very specific initiating and inhibiting conditions. The mechanism is a means of surviving predictable, unfavorable environmental conditions, such as temperature extremes, drought, or reduced food availability. Diapause is observed in all the life stages of arthropods, especially insects.
Polygonia c-album, the comma, is a food generalist (polyphagous) butterfly species belonging to the family Nymphalidae. The angular notches on the edges of the forewings are characteristic of the genus Polygonia, which is why species in the genus are commonly referred to as anglewing butterflies. Comma butterflies can be identified by their prominent orange and dark brown/black dorsal wings.
Catopsis berteroniana, commonly known as the powdery strap airplant or the lantern of the forest, is an epiphytic bromeliad thought to be a possible carnivorous plant, similar to Brocchinia reducta, although the evidence is equivocal. Its native range is from southern Florida to southern Brazil. It generally grows on the unshaded twigs of trees, and has been shown experimentally to trap more insects in its tank than other bromeliads of comparable size. There are several other species in the genus, none of which is believed to be carnivorous.
Sarracenia flava, the yellow pitcherplant, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae. Like all the Sarraceniaceae, it is native to the New World. Its range extends from southern Alabama, through Florida and Georgia, to the coastal plains of southern Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Populations also exist in the Piedmont, Mendocino County, California and mountains of North Carolina.
Photoperiodism is the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of light or a dark period. It occurs in plants and animals. Plant photoperiodism can also be defined as the developmental responses of plants to the relative lengths of light and dark periods. They are classified under three groups according to the photoperiods: short-day plants, long-day plants, and day-neutral plants.
Sarracenia purpurea, the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, turtle socks, or side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae.
In zoology, an inquiline is an animal that lives commensally in the nest, burrow, or dwelling place of an animal of another species. For example, some organisms, such as insects, may live in the homes of gophers or the garages of humans and feed on debris, fungi, roots, etc. The most widely distributed types of inquiline are those found in association with the nests of social insects, especially ants and termites – a single colony may support dozens of different inquiline species. The distinctions between parasites, social parasites, and inquilines are subtle, and many species may fulfill the criteria for more than one of these, as inquilines do exhibit many of the same characteristics as parasites. However, parasites are specifically not inquilines, because by definition they have a deleterious effect on the host species, while inquilines have not been confirmed to do so.
The Culicinae are the most extensive subfamily of mosquitoes (Culicidae) and have species in every continent except Antarctica, but are highly concentrated in tropical areas. Mosquitoes are best known as parasites to many vertebrate animals and vectors for disease. They are holometabolous insects, and most species lay their eggs in stagnant water, to benefit their aquatic larval stage.
Phytotelma is a small water-filled cavity in a terrestrial plant. The water accumulated within these plants may serve as the habitat for associated fauna and flora.
Sarracenia rosea is a species of pitcher plant in the genus Sarracenia and is sometimes known as Burk's southern pitcher plant.
Oncopeltus fasciatus, known as the large milkweed bug, is a medium-sized hemipteran of the family Lygaeidae. It is distributed throughout North America, from Central America through Mexico and the Caribbean to southern areas in Canada. Costa Rica represents this insect's southern limit. It inhabits disturbed areas, roadsides, and open pastures. Due to this widespread geographic distribution, this insect exhibits varying life history trade-offs depending on the population location, including differences in wing length and other traits based on location.
Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans, typically insects and other arthropods, and occasionally small mammals and birds. They still generate all of their energy from photosynthesis. They have adapted to grow in waterlogged sunny places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients, especially nitrogen, such as acidic bogs. They can be found on all continents except Antarctica, as well as many Pacific islands. In 1875, Charles Darwin published Insectivorous Plants, the first treatise to recognize the significance of carnivory in plants, describing years of painstaking research.
Culex pipiens is a species of mosquito commonly referred to as the common house mosquito or northern house mosquito, as it is the most common mosquito to the northern regions of the US. They can be found in both urban and suburban temperate and tropical regions across the world.
Habrotrocha rosa is a bdelloid rotifer that has been found in leaf litter, soil, and moss in Europe and New Zealand and also in North America within the pitchers of Sarracenia purpurea, the purple pitcher plant. It is one of many species that make up the inquiline community that thrives within the water-retaining pitcher-shaped leaves of S. purpurea.
Metriocnemus knabi, the pitcher plant midge, is an inquiline invertebrate found only in the phytotelma of the purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. In this microcommunity of bacteria, rotifers, protozoa, and other dipteran larva like Wyeomyia smithii, M. knabi specializes by feeding mostly on the carcasses of drowned insects captured by the plant that collect at the bottom of the pitcher. It is found in the eastern United States, as far north as Maine and south to North Carolina.
The Sifton Bog Environmentally Significant Area is a wetland jointly administered by the city of London, Ontario and the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority. It is located west of Hyde Park Road and south of Oxford Street inside the city limits of London, Southern Ontario, Canada. It is a Class 2 provincially significant wetland.
In chronobiology, the circannual cycle is characterized by biological processes and behaviors recurring on an approximate annual basis, spanning a period of about one year. This term is particularly relevant in the analysis of seasonal environmental changes and their influence on the physiology, behavior, and life cycles of organisms. Adaptations observed in response to these circannual rhythms include fur color transformation, molting, migration, breeding, fattening and hibernation, all of which are inherently driven and synchronized with external environmental changes.