Two new species of mosquitoes found in Bario, Sarawak

Two new species of mosquitoes found in Bario
31-08-2007
By JACK WONG

KUCHING: Japanese scientists have found two new species of mosquitoes in the Bario Highlands in northern Sarawak.

The discovery was made by a team headed by Okinawa-based University of Ryukyo’s Professor Dr Ichiro Miyagi during field works last year.

The team was helping the Sarawak Museum to work on a mosquito database project for the state.

Dr Miyagi said one of the new species had been named Topomiya lehcharlesi, after the state Museum Department zoologist and curator of natural history, Dr Charles Leh.

The other species was named Topomiya nepenthicola because it lives in the nepenthes, a carnivourous pitcher plant. “Most insects that flew into the pitcher plant would drown and be digested by the liquid inside the plant. But the Topomiya nepehtnicola actually breeds in the plant,” said Dr Miyagi during a talk on mosquitoes in South-East Asia on Thursday.

He said there were some 205 species of mosquitoes in Sarawak, which displayed many strange behaviours.

Some of the mosquitoes, he added, fed on regurgitated stomach contents of ants.

“Besides feeding on warm-blooded animals, mosquitoes also feed on cold-blooded animals and plants.

“In our studies, we found some species of mosquitoes are attracted to frog calls. This could be one of the strategies to find food resources," said Dr Miyagi.

He said when a frog called, the virbration would be detected by the mosquitoes, which would then fly in the direction to the source of the calls.

P/s : bila cerita pasal Bario ni, teringat ngan Beras Bario yang mahal tu huhuhuhuh... nasib ko sedap.. kalau tak ....
Muncul lagi species baru.

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