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Aedes albopictus
(Diptera: Culicidae) Oviposition Response to Organic Infusions
from Common Flora of Suburban Florida
Author(s): P.J. Obenauer, S.A. Allan and P.E. Kaufman
Source: Journal of Vector Ecology, 35(2):301-306. 2010.
Published By: Society for Vector Ecology
URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1111/j.1948-7134.2010.00086.x
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Vol. 35, no. 2 Journal of Vector Ecology 301
Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) oviposition response to organic infusions
from common flora of suburban Florida
P.J. Obenauer1, S.A. Allan2, and P.E. Kaufman3
1U.S. NAMRU-3 Cairo, PSC 452 Box 154, FPO AE 09835
2United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Center for Medical, Agricultural,
and Veterinary Entomology, 1600 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL 32608, U.S.A.
3Entomology and Nematology Department, P.O. Box 110620, Bldg. 970, Natural Area Drive, University of Florida,
Gainesville, FL 32611, U.S.A.
Received 19 January 2010; Accepted 19 May 2010
ABSTRACT: We evaluated the oviposition response of gravid Aedes albopictus (Skuse) to six organic infusions. Laboratory
and field-placed oviposition cups baited with water oak (Quercus nigra L.), longleaf pine (Pinus palustris P. Mill), or St.
Augustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze), as well as binary infusion mixtures of each, were used. In
addition, a triple-cage, dual port olfactometer was used to measure upwind response of gravid individuals to these infusions.
We found that Ae. albopictus deposited more eggs in infusion-baited cups compared with water alone. Moreover, significantly
more eggs were laid in the water oak and a water oak-pine mixture as compared with the St. Augustine grass infusion in
laboratory bioassays. However, a negative upwind response was observed with longleaf pine infusion in the olfactometer.
In field cages, significantly more eggs were deposited in infusion-baited cups as compared with water alone and a greater
percentage of eggs were deposited in cups containing a water oak and the water oak-longleaf pine mixture as compared with
cups containing single infusions or their mixtures. Journal of Vector Ecology 35 (2): 301-306. 2010.
Keyword Index: Asian tiger mosquito, mosquito attraction, oviposition, infusion.
INTRODUCTION
An array of chemicals and environmental factors are
known to influence mosquito oviposition behavior, and
consequently their ultimate site selection, by orienting them
toward (attractant) or away (repellent) from an oviposition
source, and/or eliciting an oviposition event (stimulant)
(Bentley and Day 1989). Many of these chemical cues
include pheromones associated with eggs (Starratt and
Osgood 1973), carboxylic acids and methyl esters associated
with bacterial digestion of organic materials (Ponnusamy
et al. 2008), and various naturally occurring bacteria in
larval water (Hasselschwert and Rockett 1988). Organic
infusions, commonly developed from a range of fermented
plant material to animal waste products, are frequently
used to increase the attraction of gravid mosquitoes to
ovitraps and gravid traps (Service 1993). Oviposition
response is largely due to the detection of semiochemicals
that may act as attractants or repellents emanating from
the mixture (Trexler et al. 2003). Hazard et al. (1967)
identified Aerobacter aerogenes from a hay infusion as
being responsible for stimulating mosquito oviposition in
Aedes aegypti L. and Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus (Say).
Subsequently, a range of bacteria found in mosquito larval-
rearing water have been identified as being responsible
for producing stimulants that have included Enterobacter
cloacae, Acinitobacter calcoaceticus, and Psychrobacter
immobilis (Benzon and Apperson 1988, Trexler et al. 2003).
Moreover, Trexler et al. (2003) found that Sphingobacterium
mulivaroum found in soil-contaminated cotton towels also
acted as an oviposition stimulant.
Laboratory and field studies have previously
demonstrated that Aedes albopictus (Skuse) lays significantly
more eggs in ovitraps containing white oak leaves
(Quercus alba L.) (Trexler et al. 1998), maple leaves (Acer
buergerianum) (Dieng et al. 2002), guinea grass (Panicum
maximum) (Sant’ana et al. 2006), and Bermuda grass
(Cynodon dactylan) (Zhang and Lei 2008) than in water-
only controls. Gravid trap studies using red oak leaf (Quercus
rubra L.)-baited infusions have also reported greater
captures of adult Ae. albopictus compared with standard hay
infusions (Burkett et al. 2004). Although these studies have
shown enhanced oviposition by Ae. albopictus using plant
infusions, there is limited information on attractiveness of
infusions utilizing coniferous tree substrates to mosquitoes
in general. Schreiber et al. (1996) provides one such
example, demonstrating that tires containing slash pine
(Pinus elliotti Englem) needles supported a greater number
of mosquito larvae than those containing live oak leaves
(Quercus virginiana L.). However, Ae. albopictus attraction,
repellency, and stimulant responses to infusion mixtures
from several plant species remains poorly understood.
Many suburban backyards in north-central Florida
contain a mixture of water oak (Quercus nigra L.), longleaf
pine (Pinus palustris P. Mill), and St. Augustine grass
(Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze). Subsequently,
fallen leaves from these trees and grass cuttings from lawn
mowers frequently collect in rain-filled containers, providing
ideal larval habitats for Ae. albopictus and other container-
inhabiting mosquitoes. We examined the ovipositional