The Effect of Materials and Colors of Artificial Water Container Toward Mosquito (Aedes Aegypti) Egg Index

Abstract

Aedes aegypti is the main vector of Dengue Haemorrhagic Infection in Indonesia and it is predominantly breeding in clear water within household artificial containers. Thus, it is necessary to implement environmental management that is tends to be simple, low-cost and effective to create disadvantageous condition for Aedes Aegypti mosquito's breeding sites. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of water container colour made of concrete and plastic material to the amount of Aedes Aegypti egg density. Two types of artificial water container made of cement and plastic material with 2.5 litres capacity, are painted in red, blue, green, black and white as controls. These containers were placed into two test cages according to material's type. The samples of 60 female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes (F1) were inserted into test cages and guinea pig's blood was provided, waited for duration of 4 x 24 hours to allow mosquitoes to lay eggs and the number of eggs in each container were calculated and proceeded with statistical analysis. Container that is made of blue concrete is the most placed eggs that contain 264 eggs (27.91%) whereas green plastic container is the least placed eggs that contain 103 eggs (11.09%). There is no significant difference of eggs index based on container's material types (p = 0.126) but there is a significant difference of egg index based on container's colour (p = 0.015). The container's colour that tends to be most preferred by Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes to lay their eggs is blue, this finding could support environmental management of Aedes Aegypti habitat by avoiding to use blue as water container's colour.

Aedes aegypti container preference for oviposition and its possible implications for dengue vector surveillance in Delhi, India

“…aegypti females is primarily based on a greater attraction to dark surfaces [30], suggesting that Ae. aegypti prefer dark breeding areas, over other colours such as blue, yellow, and white [31]. Colton et al [32] reported that Aedes mosquitoes lay the majority of their eggs in black ovitraps, possibly to protect the eggs and offspring from predators, as the eggs are typically black.…”