What is it about?
It has been suggested that pteridine concentrations in insects could be used for age determination. Pteridine content was evaluated in field collected mosquitoes and compared with its physiological age based in the number of ovipositions determined by the Detinova´s method (1962). Results were compared with those obtained in insectcary mosquitoes at known physiological ages. Pteridine concentration diminished with chronological and physiological age in non bloodfed insectary mosquitoes, in bloodfed insectary, and in field mosquitoes according to the number of ovipositions. These observations indicate that pteridine concentration determination is not a reliable method to estimate the age of Anophles albimanus females from the feral population.
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Why is it important?
Pteridine concentration increase in another insects´s species where the method can be used for age determination but for Anopheles albimanus is proven that the method it is not reliable.
Perspectives
It was important to develop this technique since it shows us that not all insect species are the same. So it is necessary to always check with insects that are even of the same genus before trying a recommended method for another species of insect.
Dr Rosa Patricia Penilla
Instituto Nacional de Salud Publica
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This page is a summary of: Pteridine concentrations differ between insectary-reared and field-collected Anopheles albimanus mosquitoes of the same physiological age, Medical and Veterinary Entomology, September 2002, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2915.2002.00364.x.
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