Abstract—Insect wing morphology has been used in many studies to describe variations among species and populations using traditional morphometrics and more recently, geometric morphometrics. This study was conducted to determine intraspecific divergence in wing shape and venation in Aedes aegypti using landmark-based geometric morphometrics. In the Philippines, Ae. aegypti has been identified as a common dengue vector species. With the increasing cases of dengue, mosquito control programs are faced with problems on vector species diversification and proper identification. Variation in wing geometry may provide relevant information on proper identification of species and in describing population diversity. In this study, the geometry of 30 wings of female Ae. Aegypti was described using 18 anatomical landmarks and subjected to Procrustes superimposition and relative warp analysis. Results of the relative warp analysis showed some intraspecific variation in the wing outline of Ae. aegypti. The observed morphological disparity in wing shape suggest a possible morphological divergence among populations of Ae. aegypti. Based from the results of the study, landmark-based geometric morphometrics is a good tool in describing quantitatively variations in wing shape of the mosquitoes.

Index Terms—Procrustes, aedes, landmarks, dengue, landmarks.

Judy Sendaydiego is with the Department of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, Xavier University, Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines (e-mail: jsendaydiego@yahoo.com).
Mark Anthony J. Torres and Cesar G. Demayo are with the Department of Biological Sciences, CSM, MSU-IIT, Iligan City, Philippines (emails: torres.markanthony@gmail.com, cgdemayo@gmail.com).

 

Cite:Judy P. Sendaydiego, Mark Anthony J. Torres, and Cesar G. Demayo, "Describing Wing Geometry of Aedes Aegypti Using Landmark-Based Geometric Morphometrics," International Journal of Bioscience, Biochemistry and Bioinformatics vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 379-383, 2013.