Growth and Development of Larvae of Two Species of Neotropical Diptera (Chironomidae) Under Laboratory Conditions.

Abstract

Chironomidae have a wide distribution in Neotropical aquatic ecosystems and are predominant in the macroinvertebrate biota of these ecosystems, such as shallow lakes and swamps. In recent years, there has been a notable increase in research efforts aimed at understanding the biology of chironomid, and research on the bionomy of this group is still limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to describe the growth and development of Chironomus calligraphus and Goeldichironomus holoprasinus, maintained under controlled laboratory conditions. The ovigerous masses of C. calligraphus and G. holoprasinus were collected and kept in the laboratory in 2-L plastic trays containing distilled water under constant aeration at 20 °C and photoperiod of 12/12 h. After hatching, three subjects from each posture were removed for ventralcephalic capsule length, cephalic capsule width, body length, and total body length. We determine the growth curve, daily growth rate, Dyar's rule, and larval instars. We followed the growth and development of C. calligraphus for 14 days and G. holoprasinus for 13 days. The growth ratio of Dyar was 1.30 for C. calligraphus and 1.48 for G. holoprasinus. The larvae developed in a short period and the species was easy to maintain in the laboratory. These species are therefore promising for use in toxicological studies.