Temperature-Dependent Development and Survival Rates of Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract

Development, growth, and survival of Culex quinquefasciatus Say and Aedes aegypti (L.) were determined at six constant temperatures (15, 20, 25, 27, 30, 34 degrees C). The Sharpe & DeMichele four-parameter model with high-temperature inhibition described the temperature-dependent median developmental rates of both mosquito species. In both species, body size generally decreased as temperature increased. Head capsule widths in all instars in both species were significantly greater at 15 than at 30-34 degrees C. Except for the third instar of Ae. aegypti, the larval body lengths in both species were significantly greater at 15 than at 34 degrees C. All instars and pupae of both species and the adults in Cx. quinquefasciatus were significantly heavier at 15 than at 27-34 degrees C. In Cx. quinquefasciatus, survival from eclosion to adult emergence was highest in the range from 20 to 30 degrees C (85-90%) and dropped drastically at 15 (38%) and 34 degrees C (42%). In Ae. aegypti, survival to adult stage was high at 20 (92%) and 27 degrees C (90%) and lowest at 15 degrees C (3%).

Hot temperatures can force delayed mosquito outbreaks via sequential changes in Aedes aegypti demographic parameters in autocorrelated environments

“…Because Aedes aegypti larval developmental time averages approximately a week for the temperatures observed in Thailand when the data was collected (Bar-Zeev 1958b;Headlee 1940;Headlee 1941;Rueda et al 1990;Tun-Lin et al 2000), we can further assume that larvae either emerge as adults, with probability p, or die, with probability 1-p, after one time step. Experiments and entomological observations suggest that density-dependence regulation of Aedes aegypti (Dye 1984;Gilpin & Mcclelland 1979;Legros et al 2009;Southwood et al 1972) occurs primarily during the immature stages.…”

“…We assumed larval survival under "normal" environments to be p 1 =0.500 based on field observations (Walsh et al 2011;Wijeyaratne et al 1974), an estimate that tends to be smaller than laboratory based estimations (Bar-Zeev 1958b; Barbosa et al 1972;Headlee 1940;Headlee 1941;Koenraadt et al 2010;Tun-Lin et al 2000). We further assumed that for "hot" environments larval survival was halved, as observed in the laboratory for Ae aegypti (Bar-Zeev 1958a;Mohammed & Chadee 2011;Rueda et al 1990;Tun-Lin et al 2000) and for other culicinae mosquitoes under field conditions (Chaves et al 2011). Thus, for the "hot" environment we assumed larval survival to be p 2 =0.250.…”

Abbreviations and acronyms

“…Low humidity, for instance, can negatively affect adult survival and may decrease the vector population. Frequency and host type of blood meal influence fecundity and female survival Nelson, 1986;Rueda et al, 1990;Day, Edman and Scott, 1994;Carrington et al, 2013).…”

“…aegypti is a function of temperature, and these effects have been well studied. Temperature also impacts on adult size, dry weight, and ovariole number, all of which decrease as the temperature increases Rueda et al, 1990). High extreme temperatures alone (> 40°C) are unlikely to limit the species, but low temperatures are a limiting factor.…”

“…The average body size corresponding to a wing length of 2.6 mm was associated with 61.23 ± 29.15 eggs per batch (Tamayo-Domínguez, 2011). Nelson, 1986;Rueda et al, 1990; Day, Edman and Scott, 1994; Carrington et al, 2013). …”