D3016: Plants extract as a novel control mechanism for container breeding mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus

Insecticide resistance is a major concern for controlling disease vectors, including mosquitoes. As mosquitoes become more resistant to existing chemical control methods, development of novel control methods is needed to reduce the risk of vector-borne diseases. The Rio Grande Valley region of South Texas has experienced endemic transmission of multiple mosquito-borne diseases, including Zika virus, dengue virus, West Nile virus, chikungunya virus. Many of these pathogens are transmitted by two species of container breeding mosquito, Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti. We tested novel plant extracts that contain octacosane and 2-Hexyl-1-decanol compounds with known insecticidal properties, for mortality against larvae and adults of these two mosquito species. The larvae will be exposed to different concentrations of these extracts (25, 50, and 100 μg/mL), with 5 replicates per concentration. Larvae will be reared in petri dishes with controlled food amounts and water volume. Adult mosquitoes were tested in cages with 50 adults (mosquitoes were reared in identical conditions), with similar concentrations of compounds mixed with sugar water used for feeding. Five replicates for each treatment were tested. Adults and larvae were kept in an environmental chamber at 75°, and 65% to 70% humidity. Mortality, size at pupation, and development time were measured for mosquito larvae, while mortality was measured in adults. Results will be discussed. Identifying novel compounds, such as plant extracts, solves these problems and may help reduce the burden of mosquitoes on human populations.