Laboratory Evaluation of Oviposition Behavior of Field Collected Aedes Mosquitoes

Abstract

Wild femaleAedes aegyptiandAe.albopictuswere allowed to lay eggs in (i) ovitraps with different concentrations of NaCl, (ii) different coloured ovistrips, (iii) water from different sources, (iv) larva holding water, and different sized ovitraps for oviposition preference. Oviposition cycle was also studied in different photoperiod regimens. The number of eggs laid was observed to gradually decrease with increase in NaCl concentration in both the species. Experiments were conducted to determine egg laying preference for any specific colour of the ovistrip and black ovistrip was found to be most preferred by both the species. For oviposition preference, eight water samples collected from different sources were used and it was observed that the maximum number of eggs was laid in ovitraps containing distilled water followed by tap water. In addition,Aedesmosquitoes laid more number of eggs in ovitraps containing larval holding water than ovitraps containing distilled water. Further, both the species did not lay any egg in the smallest used ovitrap although the number of eggs was maximally deposited in the largest ovitrap used. In the present studies, both theAedesspecies laid the maximum number of eggs in the 4th quarter of the light period with normal 12 h light and dark phases (LD 12 : 12).

Behavioural study in relation to oviposition of wild Culex quinquefasciatus in laboratory condition

“…In the present study, maximum number of egg rafts were found in the ovitrap contained water of paddy field followed by the water of pond, tap, drain and river but no egg rafts were laid in the well water which is in contrast to the findings of our previous report of Panigrahi et al, (2014) where maximum number of eggs were laid by female Aedes mosquitoes in distilled water.…”

“…In the present experiment too, the gravid females of Cx. quinquefasciatus preferred larval holding water over distilled water for oviposition which is also similar to the findings of Panigrahi et al, (2014) on Ae. albopictus and Ae.…”

“…The number of egg rafts laid exhibiting a direct linear relationship between the surface area of the ovitrap for oviposition which was similar to the observations made by Derraik and Slaney, (2005) and Panigrahi et al, (2014). It is believed that the larger containers may provide large, protected, humid resting surfaces for females preparing for oviposition (Reiskind and Zarrabi, 2012 …”

“…quinquefasciatus have any choice for the colour of the medium for oviposition, it was decided to use six different colour edovitraps to study their oviposition behaviour. It was noticed that the maximum number of egg rafts were laid on black ovitrap which is similar to the findings of Panigrahi et al, (2014) on Aedes mosquitoes. Similar observations were also made in various mosquito species by Williams,1962;Wilton, 1968;Mc Daniel et al, 1976;Yap and Foo, 1984;Beehler et al,1992;Jones and Schreiber, 1994;Yanoviak 2001;Colton et al, 2003.…”

Oviposition substrate in Asian tiger mosquito surveillance: Do the sizes matter?

“…Nevertheless, the oviposition substrate is the only component of the ovitrap that is renewed at each examination, and variation in its sizes may considerably influence data and costs of the monitoring. Several studies have been conducted to understand how to improve the efficacy of ovitraps, focusing on the colors of the vessel (Hoel et al 2009, 2011, Panigrahi et al 2014 or on the use of chemical attractants (Anderson et al 2014, Santana et al 2006, Wang et al 2006, Thavara et al 2004 Centre for Disease Prevention and Control 2012), but no studies have investigated which sizes of oviposition substrate were the best.…”