Flower Mimics Roll Out Multicolored Carpets to Lure and Kill the House Fly.

Flowers and their spatial clustering are important parameters that mediate the foraging behavior and visitation rate of pollinating insects. Visual stimuli are crucial for triggering behavioral changes in the house fly, , which regularly visits plants for feeding and reproduction. The success of bait technology, which is the principal means of combatting flies, is adversely affected by reduced attractiveness and ineffective application techniques.

The electronic song "Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites" reduces host attack and mating success in the dengue vector Aedes aegypti.

Sound and its reception are crucial for reproduction, survival, and population maintenance of many animals. In insects, low-frequency vibrations facilitate sexual interactions, whereas noise disrupts the perception of signals from conspecifics and hosts. Despite evidence that mosquitoes respond to sound frequencies beyond fundamental ranges, including songs, and that males and females need to struggle to harmonize their flight tones, the behavioral impacts of music as control targets remain unexplored.

Day Biting Habits of Mosquitoes Associated with Mangrove Forests in Kedah, Malaysia.

Due to conservation and rehabilitation efforts, mangrove forests represent some of the largest environmental niches in Malaysia. However, there is little information on the potential risks posed by mosquitoes that are directly and indirectly associated with mangrove forests. To study the potential health risk to humans active within and in close vicinity of mangrove forests, this research focused on the day biting habits of mosquitoes in mangrove forests of Kedah, Malaysia.

Occurrence of sweet refuse at disposal sites: rainwater retention capacity and potential breeding opportunities for Aedes aegypti.

Nectar is the staple diet of adult mosquitoes in the wild, but its availability is inconsistent and can be affected by rainfall. In urban centers, Aedes vectors commonly use man-made containers as their major habitat; however, they can colonize any items replenished by rainfall. Garbage output has increased significantly in recent years, at a time when collection frequency is reducing.

Presence of a predator image in potential breeding sites and oviposition responses of a dengue vector.

In dengue vector control, attempts to minimize or replace the use of pesticides have mostly involved use of predators, but success has been severely impeded by difficulties associated with financial and environmental costs, predator mass production, and persistence in target habitats. Visual deterrents have been used successfully to control animal pests, in some cases in an effort to replace pesticide use. Despite evidence that visual signals are crucial in site choice for egg deposition by dengue vectors, and that female mosquitoes respond to artificial predation, the role of predator intimidation as it affects the oviposition behavior of dengue vectors remains largely unexplored.

The effect of inbreeding and larval feeding regime on immature development of Aedes albopictus.

The fundamental approach to the biological control of Aedes albopictus requires the mass rearing of mosquitoes and the release of highly competitive adults in the field. As the fitness of adults is highly dependent on the development of immatures, we aimed to identify the minimum feeding regime required to produce viable and competitive adults by evaluating three response parameters: development duration, immature mortality, and adult wing length. Our study suggests at least 0.

Revised Discriminating Lethal Doses For Resistance Monitoring Program on Aedes albopictus Against Temephos and Malathion in Penang Island, Malaysia.

Dengue vector control still heavily relies on the use of chemical insecticides, and the widespread use of insecticides has led to resistance in mosquitoes. The diagnostic dose is a key part of resistance monitoring. The present study corroborates the discriminating lethal doses of temephos and malathion based on dose-response of known susceptible strain of Aedes albopictus following the World Health Organization (WHO) diagnostic test procedure.

EFFECTS OF SUGAR CONCENTRATION ON FECUNDITY, BITING BEHAVIOR AND SURVIVABILITY OF FEMALE AEDES (STEGOMYIA) ALBOPICTUS (SKUSE).

This study was conducted to better understand the effect of different sucrose concentrations on Aedes albopictus fecundity, biting behavior and survival. Laboratory strain Ae. albopictus females were raised at four different sucrose concentrations (10%, 30%, 50%, and 70%) and their fecundity, host biting on and survival rates were determined.

Age-Stage, Two-Sex Life Table Characteristics of Aedes albopictus and Aedes Aegypti in Penang Island, Malaysia.

The life table developmental attributes of laboratory colonies of wild strains of Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti were analyzed and compared based on the age-stage, two-sex life table. Findings inclusive in this study are: adult preoviposition periods, total preoviposition period, mean intrinsic rate of increase (r), mean finite rate of increase (λ), net reproductive rates (R0), and mean generation time (T). The total preadult development time was 9.

The importance of males: larval diet and adult sugar feeding influences reproduction in Culex molestus.

Culex molestus is an obligatory autogenous mosquito that is closely associated with subterranean habitats in urban areas. The objective of our study was to investigate the influence of larval and adult nutrition on the role of males in determining the expression of autogeny in Cx. molestus.

Is the expression of autogeny by Culex molestus Forskal (Diptera: Culicidae) influenced by larval nutrition or by adult mating, sugar feeding, or blood feeding?

Culex molestus Forskal is suspected to have been introduced into southern Australia during the 1940s. Investigations to determine factors influencing the expression of autogeny, the response of this mosquito to potential blood meals, and the subsequent influence on oviposition were undertaken. Immature mosquitoes raised at five feeding regimes had mortality rates, development rates, wing length, and autogenous egg raft size measured.