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This study aimed to assess the vertical patterns of oviposition and temporal changes in the distribution of mosquito species in an area of the Atlantic Forest in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, and in particular, the behavior and oviposition of potential yellow fever virus vectors. Mosquito samples were collected from the Ecological Reserve Guapiaçu (REGUA, Brazil), which includes a somewhat disturbed forest, with a large diversity of plants and animals. In all, 5,458 specimens (ten species from seven genera) were collected. Haemagogus leucocelaenus was the most frequently captured species, representing 73% of the specimens collected. Species richness and diversity were the highest in the samples collected from the ground-level ovitraps and decreased with height. Species composition also differed significantly among heights. The largest species differences were detected between ovitraps set at the ground level and those set at 7 m and 9 m; Hg. leucocelaenus, Limatus durhamii, and Limatus paraensis contributed most to these differences. Sampling month and climatic variables had significant effects on species richness and diversity. Species diversity and richness decreased with height, suggesting that the conditions for mosquito breeding are more favorable closer to the ground. Species composition also showed vertical differences.

Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae), the main vector of dengue and urban yellow fever in the world, is highly adapted to the human environment. Artificial containers are the most common larval habitat for the species, but it may develop in tree holes and other phytotelmata. This study assessed whether tree holes in San Ramón de la Nueva Orán, a city located in subtropical montane moist forest where dengue outbreaks occur, are relevant as larval habitat for Ae. aegypti and if the species may be found in natural areas far from human habitations. Water holding tree holes were sampled during 3 years once a month along the rainy season using a siphon bottle, in urban and suburban sites within the city and in adjacent forested areas. Larvae and pupae were collected and the presence and volume of water in each tree hole were recorded. Finding Ae. aegypti in forested areas was an isolated event; however, the species was frequently collected from tree holes throughout the city and along the sampling period. Moreover, larvae were collected in considerably high numbers, stressing the importance of taking into account these natural cavities as potential reinfestation foci within dengue control framework.

Varios arbovirus han emergido y/o reemergido en el Nuevo Mundo en las últimas décadas. Los virus Zika y chikungunya, anteriormente restringidos a África y quizás Asia, invadieron el continente, causando gran preocupación; además siguen ocurriendo brotes causados por el virus dengue en casi todos los países, con millones de casos por año. El virus West Nile invadió rápidamente América del Norte, y ya se han encontrado casos en América Central y del Sur. Otros arbovirus, como Mayaro y el virus de la encefalitis equina del este han aumentado su actividad y se han encontrado en nuevas regiones. Se han documentado cambios en la patogenicidad de algunos virus que conducen a enfermedades inesperadas. Una fauna diversa de mosquitos, cambios climáticos y en la vegetación, aumento de los viajes, y urbanizaciones no planificadas que generan condiciones adecuadas para la proliferación de Aedes aegypti (L.), Culex quinquefasciatus Say y otros mosquitos vectores, se han combinado para influir fuertemente en los cambios en la distribución y la incidencia de varios arbovirus. Se enfatiza la necesidad de realizar estudios exhaustivos de la fauna de mosquitos y modificaciones de las condiciones ambientales, sobre todo en las zonas urbanas fuertemente influenciadas por factores sociales, políticos y económicos.

Mosquitoes are vectors of pathogens to humans and domestic animals and may also have economical impacts. One approach to prevent mosquito-borne diseases is bite deterrence through the application of repellents. Currently, there is an interest to search for alternative bioactive products to the synthetic active ingredients most widely used in insect repellents. Repellence against Aedes aegypti of essential oils extracted from Acantholippia salsoloides, Aloysia catamarcensis, Aloysia polystachya, Lippia integrifolia, Lippia junelliana (Verbenaceae), Baccharis salicifolia, Euphatorium buniifolium, and Tagetes filifolia (Asteraceae) were assessed. Tests were conducted by alternatively exposing untreated and treated forehand to the mosquitoes and counting probing attempts. All essential oils tested were significantly repellent against A. aegypti when compared to untreated controls; L. junelliana was the most repellent and T. filifolia was the least based on the response of the mosquitoes to different concentrations of the essential oils (EO). Repellence may be attributed to the respective main components of each EO.

Mosquitoes are important vectors of diseases to humans and domestic animals. Chemical control of vectors remains a main resource for the prevention and control of vector-borne diseases. Due to the development of insecticide resistance and risks to human health and the environment of synthetic compounds, the search for alternative pesticides is encouraged. This work assessed the insecticidal activity of essential oils (EOs) from Lippia turbinata and L. polystachya from Argentina on Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes. EOs were extracted by hydro-distillation and analyzed with gas-liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. The insecticidal activity against mosquito larvae, pupae, and adults were evaluated according to World Health Organization protocols. Concentrations ranking from 10 to 160 ppm were assessed at 1, 2, 3, and 24 h posttreatment. The composition of the EO of L. polystachya and L. turbinata were qualitatively similar, with alpha-thujone and carvone as main constituent; differences were mostly due to the proportion of each component. beta-caryophyllene was also an important constituent of the EO of L. turbinata. Both EO were larvicidal at concentrations of 80 ppm or higher, but only L. turbinata was adulticidal. No pupal mortality was detected. The potential of these EOs for vector control is discussed.

Assessment of long-range correlation in animal behaviour time series: the temporal pattern of locomotor activity of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix) and mosquito larva (Culex quinquefasciatus). AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a classical method of fractal analysis, Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA), in the analysis of the dynamics of animal behavior time series. In order to correctly use DFA to assess the presence of long-range correlation, previous authors using statistical model systems have stated that different aspects should be taken into account such as: 1) the establishment by hypothesis testing of the absence of short term correlation, 2) an accurate estimation of a straight line in the log-log plot of the fluctuation function, 3) the elimination of artificial crossovers in the fluctuation function, and 4) the length of the time series. Taking into consideration these factors, herein we evaluated the presence of long-range correlation in the temporal pattern of locomotor activity of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix) and mosquito larva (Culex quinquefasciatus). In our study, modeling the data with the general ARFIMA model, we rejected the hypothesis of short range correlations (d=0) in all cases. We also observed that DFA was able to distinguish between the artificial crossover observed in the temporal pattern of locomotion of Japanese quail, and the crossovers in the correlation behavior observed in mosquito larvae locomotion. Although the test duration can slightly influence the parameter estimation, no qualitative differences were observed between different test durations.

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