Evaluation of the temperature influence on the development of Aedes albopictus

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To verify the temperature's influence on the Aedes albopictus development stages under laboratory conditions. METHODS: The development period of eggs, larvae and pupas were assessed at constant temperatures, 15ºC, 20ºC, 25ºC and 30ºC, inside acclimatized chambers with 70-85% of relative humidity, and LD 12:12 h. The effect of the four constant temperatures was assessed using variance analysis. RESULTS: The incubation periods of eggs were 38.38, 19.09, 13.10, and 10.44 days. Larval periods for males lasted 30.13, 13.83, 7.36, and 5.57 days; for females it lasted 33.22, 15.00, 8.06, and 6.16 days. Pupil period for males lasted 8.01, 4.92, 2.40, and 1.76 days; and for females it lasted 8.15, 5.11, 2.60, and 1.88 days under the temperatures of 15ºC, 20ºC, 25ºC and 30ºC, respectively. In all development stages for all temperatures, significant differences were found at the level of 5%. The development period was inversely associated to the temperature, and the larval period was shorter in males than in females. Under the temperatures of 20ºC and 30ºC, the development of immature stages was shorter and their viability was greater than at 15ºC. CONCLUSIONS: In the conditions the experiment was performed, the temperature affected significantly and inversely proportional Aedes albopictus immature stages. These results show that immature stages are more susceptible at low temperatures due to the longer time required completing their development. This could be used in vector control strategies.