Statistical appraisal of the weight-wing length relationship of mosquitoes.

The relationship between wing length and body weight of mosquitoes was examined by comparing the fit of regressions using logarithmic and cubic transformations. A two-parameter line using a double logarithmic transformation provided the best fit, and we found no evidence to justify the use of wing length cubed as a transformation. Wing length was not directly proportional to body weight, but rather increased at a lesser rate than did body weight. Equations that predict body weight from wing length may not be an appropriate substitute for weighing mosquitoes, when studying the extremes of size in populations.