Estimation of survival and gonotrophic cycle length of Simulium metallicum sensu lato (Diptera: Simuliidae) in southern Mexico.

This study compares the use of a mark-recapture analysis and a time-series analysis to estimate the gonotrophic cycle length and survivorship of Simulium metallicum s.l. in southern Mexico. Daily collections were performed with human- and horse-baited traps at 3 sites in a coffee plantation. The mark-recapture and time series experiments on these collections conclusively yielded a gonotrophic cycle length estimate of 3 days. Horizontal estimates of daily survivorship ranged from 0.75 to 0.69 and these values were similar to that estimated vertically of 0.77. The survival to infective stage (9 days) ranged from 0.012 to 0.043, taking into account at least 12 days for development of 3rd-stage larvae of Onchocerca volvulus. Mark-recapture and time-series methods were found to be suitable for estimating the gonotrophic cycle length and daily survivorship of S. metallicum s.l. under field conditions in southern Mexico.