| Wyeomyia smithii | |
|---|---|
| Wyeomyia smithii larva magnified 40X | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Culicidae |
| Subfamily: | Culicinae |
| Tribe: | Sabethini |
| Genus: | Wyeomyia |
| Species: | W. smithii |
| Binomial name | |
| Wyeomyia smithii Coquillett, 1901 |
|
Wyeomyia smithii, the pitcher plant mosquito, is an inquiline invertebrate found only in the phytotelma of the purple pitcher plant, Sarracenia purpurea. In this microcommunity of bacteria, rotifers, protozoa, and midges, W. smithii is the top-level predator; its presence determines the bacterial species diversity within the pitcher.[1]
Wyeomyia smithii is a model organism for the study of photoperiodism, the biotic process of controlling seasonal life history events by measuring day length as a reliable predictor of the seasons. W. smithii enters a state of developmental arrest, larval diapause, that is initiated and maintained by short daylengths and averted or terminated by long daylengths [2]