Kolkata, Nov 26: A variety of mosquito larvae which feed on the vectors that transmit malaria and dengue infections are being studied by the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) laboratory to eliminate these agents causing serious diseases.
Officials of the KMC”s entomology department have discovered the larvae of Toxorhynchitis variety of the mosquito for the first time from Kudghat, Lake Gardens and Park Circus areas of the metropolis.
“The Toxorhynchitis mosquito does not bite humans. Mosquitoes normally suck human and animal blood for egg formation, which this specie does not do,” KMC Vector Control Officer Debasis Biswas told PTI. The larvae of the Toxorhynchitis mosquito feed on that of anopheles, culex and aedes mosquitoes which spread malaria, dengue and chikungunya.
“We collected the larvae on November 11 from a water tank in Kudghat. It is now feeding on disease-bearing mosquito larvae.
It turns into a large golden coloured mosquito and is the largest of the variety,” Biswas said. The feeding habits of the Toxorhynchitis mosquito has been filmed in the laboratory.
–PTI