ABSTRACT. The mosquito Aedes albopictus is indigenous to SoutheastAsian and is a vector for arbovirus diseases. Studies examining the population genetics structure of A. albopictus have been conducted worldwide; however, there are no documented reports on the population genetic structure of A. albopictus in Malaysia, particularly in Penang. We examined the population genetics of A. albopictus based on a 445-base pair segment of the mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase 1 gene among 77 individuals from 9 localities representing 4 regions (Seberang Perai Utara, Seberang Perai Tengah, Northeast, and Southwest) of Penang. A total of 37 haplotypes were detected, including 28 unique haplotypes. The other 9 haplotypes were shared among various populations. These shared haplotypes reflect the weak population genetic structure of A. albopictus. The phylogenetic tree showed a low bootstrap value with no genetic structure, which was supported by minimum spanning network analysis. Analysis of mismatch distribution showed poor fit of equilibrium distribution. The genetic distance showed low genetic variation, while pairwise F ST values showed no significant difference between all regions in Penang except for some localities. High haplotype diversity and low nucleotide diversity was observed for cytochrome oxidase 1 mtDNA. We conclude that there is no population genetic structure of A. albopictus mosquitoes in the Penang area.

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The study was conducted in gutter, swamps, and large water bodies and Culex (Diptera: Culicidae) larvae were sampled weekly from May to November 2019. Three Culex vectors identified in the areas namely, Culex quinquefasciatus, Cx. nigripalpus and Cx. salinarius. Habitats-wised showed large water habitats had the abundance of Culex followed by gutters and swamps. Based on the monthly abundance rate, the peak abundance of the immature stages was June and July and declined in November in both habitats. While the age survival rate differed significantly from one another across the months in all the habitat types. On the age distribution within the habitat types, L4 was the highest, in gutters, while in swamps, and large water habitats, L1 larvae were the most abundant, respectively. While between the habitats, gutters had a significantly higher abundance of L1, L2, L3, and L4, while swamp and larger water habitats were insignificant (p > 0.05) from one another for L1 and L4 except for the L3 immature stage that was differentiated with larger water being the most abundant. The findings imply that anthropogenic changes to the ecosystem are causing a severe hazard of Culex-Borne Diseases to public health in Niger State.