Optimization of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) Mass Rearing through Cost-Effective Larval Feeding

Abstract

Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse, 1895) is an invasive important medical and veterinary pest species. The sterile insect technique (SIT) involves the mass rearing of males, and their sterilization and release into the habitat to compete with wild males. Our research objective was to compare the effectiveness of three larval diet recipes (IAEA-BY, BCWPRL, and MIX-14) in the laboratory rearing of Ae. albopictus males to evaluate the available economical feeding alternatives. The separation of sexes was done in the pupal stage by sieving. Reared males were tested for flight capacity and longevity. The application of the BCWPRL diet resulted in a higher portion of sieved male pupae than females, but the development of males was the slowest, and the number of obtained males (pupae and adults) was lower compared to the other two diets. The adult mean survival time was the highest in males fed with MIX-14 and the lowest in males fed with IAEA-BY. Males fed by IAEA-BY also demonstrated higher initial mortality in the adult stage. The diets BCWPRL and MIX-14 are economically more convenient than IAEA-BY (2.28 and 5.30 times cheaper, respectively). The cheapest diet, MIX-14, might represent a candidate for replacing the effective but still expensive IAEA-BY larval diet, providing lower costs of sterile male production.

Effect of larval diets on the life table parameters of dengue mosquito, Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) using age-stage two sex life table theory

“…We expected higher or equal larval survivorship, rapid development and survivorship of adults from replacement diet. The diet 3 was modified to enhance energy reserves for male Aedes when sterilized and used in a sterile insect technique program for competing with wild males 40 . It has been reported earlier that at least 14 amino acids, sugars, polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), sterols, and nucleotides are needed for successful rearing 41 and a minimum number of essential vitamins are required for optimum growth, larval development, survival, and adult flight in mosquitoes 42 .…”

Upscaling irradiation protocols of Aedes albopictus pupae within an SIT Programme in Reunion Island

“…In the recent decade, the SIT for mosquitoes, in particular for Aedes spp., has regained much interest following increased outbreaks of arboviruses and the accelerated invasion of new territories by Aedes mosquitoes [5][6][7] . The SIT programs and the technical components are still in development [8][9][10][11] , and small relative to the massive programmes that exist for example for plant pests. However, great progress has been made recently, reviewed in Vreysen et al 12 , which will play an important role for integrated management of the control of Aedes-borne viral diseases 13,14 .…”

“…Several components are needed to support the testing and implementation of the SIT: the collection of baseline data provides information on the biological and ecological parameters of the species, methods for mass rearing, sex separation, sterilisation, packing, transport, release and quality control, also required for the technique [8][9][10][15][16][17][18] . Continuous research is also needed for the optimization and standardisation of each step of the technique from the small-scale field trial to the operational phase of SIT programs.…”

Effect of 2 sex-sorting time schedules on SIT facility management

“…Mass production should be self-sustaining providing both sterile males without residual presence of females and females to maintain breeding lines. Achieving this requires proper sexing systems and adherence to schedule protocols, as various factors such as temperature, humidity, synchronous growth, larval density, diet, strain, or adaptation level can influence the quantity and quality of produced males ( Couret et al 2014 , Sasmita et al 2019 , Mamai et al 2020 , Kavran et al 2022 , Malfacini et al 2022 ).…”