Abstract

Many vector mosquito species have evolved resistance to chemical insecticides and the search for novel biological control strategies warrants further attention. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) (Heterorhabditis and Steinernema spp.) have been developed as biological control agents for use against agricultural pests but whether they could be used to control aquatic mosquito larvae warrants further research. We exposed Aedes aegypti and Ochlerotatus detritus larvae to commercially available (Steinernema feltiae, S. carpocapsae, S. kraussei and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora) and wild isolated (S. affine and S. glaseri) EPNs and monitored survival over 7 days. We also exposed EPNs to water with a range of salinities and pHs found in the marshland habitats of British mosquitoes. Ae. aegypti and O. detritus were killed by commercial EPNs, but wild strains were unable to kill Ae. aegypti yet did kill O. detritus. All EPNs were capable of tolerating a wide range of pHs but showed variable tolerance to different salinities. EPNs could be used as an alternative to chemical insecticides but target species and habitat may influence choice of EPN strain in control operations.

摘要

许多媒介蚊子物种已经进化出对化学杀虫剂的抗性，寻找新的生物控制策略值得进一步关注。昆虫病原线虫 (EPNs)（异形线虫和Steinernema spp.）已被开发为用于对抗农业害虫的生物控制剂，但它们是否可用于控制水生蚊子幼虫值得进一步研究。我们将埃及伊蚊和Ochlerotatus detritus幼虫暴露于市售（Steinernema Feeliae、S . carpocapsae、S. kraussei和Heterorhabditis bacteriophora）和野生分离物（S. affine和S. glaseri）) EPNs 和监测存活超过 7 天。我们还将 EPN 暴露在英国蚊子沼泽栖息地中具有一系列盐度和 pH 值的水中。艾。aegypti和O. detritus被商业 EPNs 杀死，但野生菌株无法杀死Ae。aegypti确实杀死了O. detritus。所有 EPN 都能够耐受广泛的 pH 值，但对不同的盐度表现出不同的耐受性。EPN 可用作化学杀虫剂的替代品，但目标物种和栖息地可能会影响控制操作中 EPN 菌株的选择。