Infection of adult Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes with the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae

This study describes a laboratory investigation on the use of the insect-pathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae against adult Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus mosquitoes. At a dosage of 1.6 × 1010 conidia/m2, applied on material that served as a mosquito resting site, an average of 87.1 ± 2.65% of Ae. aegypti and 89.3 ± 2.2% of Ae. albopictus became infected with the fungus. The life span of fungus-contaminated mosquitoes of both species was significantly reduced compared to uninfected mosquitoes. LT50-values of fungus-contaminated mosquitoes ranged between 3.1 ± 0.2 days (male Ae. aegypti) and 4.1 ± 0.3 days (female Ae. aegypti). LT50-values of uncontaminated mosquitoes ranged from 17.7 ± 0.4 days (female Ae. albopictus) to 19.7 ± 0.6 days (male Ae. albopictus). These results indicate that both mosquito species are highly susceptible to infection with this entomopathogen. Requirements for developing and incorporating this biological control method into current strategies to control major diseases vectored by these species, such as dengue fever, are discussed.