Oviposition Sites of the Saltmarsh Mosquito, Aedes vigilax (Skuse) (Diptera: Culicidae), at Homebush Bay, Sydney, NSW - A Preliminary Investigation

Abstract

Eggs of the saltmarsh mosquito, Aedes vigilax (Skuse), were collected in two saline wetlands at Homebush Bay in Sydney in February and March 1994 as part of an extensive study on the mosquito fauna of the area. Within the mangrove forest, very few eggs were found on mangrove trunks or pneumatophores. Within the saltmarshes, the distribution of eggs was very clumped. Few eggs were found on bare mud, and eggs were found mainly on the soil beneath the samphire plant, Sarcocornia quinqueflora, in the Bicentennial Park wetlands, and beneath S. quinqueflora and the marine couch, Sporobolus virginicus, in the Newington wetlands. Sporobolus appeared to be the preferred habitat plant although its distribution was limited.