Mosquitoes, in addition to being a biting nuisance, are vectors of several pathogenic viruses and parasites. As a continuation of our work identifying abundant and/or invasive plant species in ...Vietnam for use as ecologically friendly pesticidal agents, we obtained the essential oils of Blumea lacera, Blumea sinuata, Emilia sonchifolia, Parthenium hysterophorus, and Sphaeranthus africanus; analyzed the essential oils using gas chromatographic techniques; and screened the essential oils for mosquito larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. The most active larvicidal essential oils were B. sinuata, which was rich in thymohydroquinone dimethyl ether (29.4%), (E)-β-caryophyllene (19.7%), α-pinene (8.8%), germacrene D (7.8%), and α-humulene (4.3%), (24-h LCsub.50 23.4 and 29.1 μg/mL) on Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus, respectively, and Emilia sonchifolia, dominated by 1-undecene (41.9%) and germacrene D (11.0%), (24-h LCsub.50 30.1 and 29.6 μg/mL) on the two mosquito species. The essential oils of P. hysterophorus and S. africanus were also active against mosquito larvae. Notably, B. sinuata, P. hysterophorus, and S. africanus essential oils were not toxic to the non-target water bug, Diplonychus rusticus. However, E. sonchifolia essential oil showed insecticidal activity (24-h LCsub.50 48.1 μg/mL) on D. rusticus. Based on these results, B. sinuata, P. hysterophorus, and S. africanus essential oils appear promising for further investigations.
In order to document the diversity and distribution of mosquitoes inhabiting the Querétaro State of México, collection trips were conducted in all physiographic regions and sub-regions of the state ...(Sierra Madre Oriental, Central Plateau, and Neo-Volcanic Axis). In addition, mosquito specimens collected in Querétaro and deposited in the Collection of Arthropods of Medical Importance (CAIM) were re-examined. A total of 2718 specimens (570 larvae, 384 larval exuviae, 537 pupal exuviae, 30 pupae, 807 females, 368 males, and 22 male genitalia) were analyzed. In total, 2 subfamilies, namely Anophelinae and Culicinae, 5 tribes, 12 genera, 20 subgenera, and 50 species were found. Of these, 3 tribes, 8 genera, 11 subgenera, and 33 species are new records for the mosquito fauna of Querétaro. Two undescribed species were found, and one of them, Shannoniana huasteca Ortega n. sp., is described here using morphology and Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) DNA barcoding. Taxonomic notes, new distribution limits, comments about the medical importance of species, and a key to identify adult females of Shannoniana species are provided.
Seasonal activity of mosquito larvae (Diptera, Culicidae) was studied in the period from April to September of 2016, 2017 and 2018 in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve (Vitebsk Province, Belarus). We ...studied the larvae of 19 mosquito species: Aedes cinereus, A. vexans, A. annulipes, A. cantans, A. cataphylla, A. communis, A. cyprius, A. euedes, A. excrucians, A. flavescens, A. intrudens, A. leucomelas, A. mercurator, A. punctor, A. riparius, A. sticticus, Anopheles maculipennis, A. messeae, and Culex territans.
Seasonal activity of nine mosquito species (Diptera, Culicidae): Aedes cinereus, A. cantans, A. annulipes, A. excrucians, A. communis, A. punctor, A. intrudens, A. sticticus, and A. vexans was ...investigated in the period from May to September of 2016, 2017 and 2018 in the Berezinsky Biosphere Reserve (Vitebsk Province, Belarus). According to the type of seasonal dynamics, these species are classified in four phenological groups.
Geographic variability of the thoracic chaetome in females of Coquillettidia richiardii (Ficalbi, 1889) and Culex modestus Ficalbi, 1890 was revealed for the first time. We found statistically ...significant differences in the number of setae between populations from various regions. In particular, Coquillettidia richiardii females from Romania and Moldova have on average a greater number of postpronotal and prealar setae as compared with conspecific females from St. Petersburg and Leningrad Province of Russia. Culex modestus females from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Leningrad Province have on average fewer postpronotal, prealar, mesepisternal, and upper mesepimeral setae than the females from Rostov Province of Russia.
Among the struggles of the twentieth century, the one between humans and mosquitoes may have been the most vexing, as demonstrated by the long battle to control these bloodsucking pests. As vectors ...of diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, encephalitis, and dengue fever, mosquitoes forced open a new chapter in the history of medical entomology. Based on extensive use of primary sources,The Mosquito Crusadestraces this saga and the parallel efforts of civic groups in New Jersey's Meadowlands and along San Francisco Bay's east side to manage the dangerous mosquito population.
Providing readers with a fascinating exploration of the relationship between science, technology, and public policy, Gordon Patterson's narrative begins in New Jersey with John B. Smith's effort to develop a comprehensive plan and solution for mosquito control, one that would serve as a national model. From the Reed Commission's 1900 yellow fever experiment to the first Earth Day seventy years later, Patterson provides an eye-opening account of the crusade to curtail the deadly mosquito population.
This paper presents a study based on ecological parameters represented by diversity and richness indices applied in a community of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae), at the National Forest of Caxiuanã, ...Melgaço municipality, state of Pará, in the Brazilian Amazon. A total of 25,433 specimens of culicids were collected in the study, from five field collection periods, over 10 months, between 2005 and 2006. Specimens were collected in four heights of the forest (ground level, 8 m, 16 m, and 30 m-canopy). Diversity indices of Shannon and Berger-Parker were obtained, and indicators of dominance of species were calculated. The species Culex portesi was dominant in this site, representing about 84% of specimens. Measures of richness and similarity (Jaccard) were obtained for the five strata of time and four height levels. According to the richness estimator abundance-based covered estimator (ACE) the greatest value occurred in April (2006), considering the levels of height to 16 m and on the ground. The estimates obtained have shown quantitative parameters of mosquito populations in the region of the Forest of Caxiuanã.
Invasive Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes transmit viruses such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika, posing a huge public health burden as well as having a less well understood economic ...impact. We present a comprehensive, global-scale synthesis of studies reporting these economic costs, spanning 166 countries and territories over 45 years. The minimum cumulative reported cost estimate expressed in 2022 US$ was 94.7 billion, although this figure reflects considerable underreporting and underestimation. The analysis suggests a 14-fold increase in costs, with an average annual expenditure of US$ 3.1 billion, and a maximum of US$ 20.3 billion in 2013. Damage and losses were an order of magnitude higher than investment in management, with only a modest portion allocated to prevention. Effective control measures are urgently needed to safeguard global health and well-being, and to reduce the economic burden on human societies. This study fills a critical gap by addressing the increasing economic costs of Aedes and Aedes-borne diseases and offers insights to inform evidence-based policy.
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•Dengue, Zika and chikungunya are transmitted by Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.•These invasive species carry a significant but not well-characterized economic cost.•Our study reports costs from 166 countries and territories, spanning 45 years.•The cumulative reported cost amounted to at least US$ 94.7 billion.•Costs are increasing and only a modest proportion (1/10) is invested in prevention.
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