| Hematophagous Diptera in national parks are important because they can transmit pathogens to park visitors and cause annoyance. I determined the distribution of 113 species of hematophagous Diptera and 38 species of their symbiotes in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.; Internal symbiotes are common in wild mosquito populations. I demonstrated that putatively host-specific gregarines in the genus Ascogregarina can infect larvae of Wyeomyia smithii, a sabethine mosquito, in the laboratory. Only 18–70% of the larvae of W. smithii had visible trophozoites, with a range of 1–92 per larva. Trophozoites persisted in the midgut for more than 37 days. After 50 days, gregarines were not found in larvae of W. smithii.; I tested whether larvae of A. aegypti infected with A. taiwanensis, Candida near pseudoglaebosa , or Smittium morbosum rendered the rearing water unacceptable to oviposting mosquitoes. Infections with S. morbosum had no effect on the acceptability of the associated rearing water when compared with rearing water from uninfected larvae. The rearing water from larvae infected with A. taiwanensis or C. near pseudoglaebosa was more acceptable to ovipositing females than was distilled water or rearing water from uninfected larvae.; I examined the seasonality and spatial distribution of larvae of W. smithii colonized by S. culisetae from a bog in Jackson County, North Carolina. Wyeomyia smithii develops only in the water-filled leaves of the purple pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea. The lowest proportions of colonized larvae were found during December and January and July. The greatest proportions of colonized larvae were found in October and March.; I examined the host-seeking behavior of six species of Chrysops to determine if infections with Trypanosomatidae influenced diurnal activity. The Chrysops species were collected at two locations in South Carolina in the morning and evening. Infection prevalence was statistically equivalent during the morning and evening at both sites. |
