Philippine species of Mesocyclops (Crustacea: Copepoda) as a biological control of Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus)

• Main Authors: Reyes, Cecilia P., Cruz, Estrella I., Bautista, Soledad L.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2004
• Subjects: Copepoda—Varieties—Philippines; Biological pest control agents; Vector control—Biological control; Aedes aegypti—Biological control; Aedes albopictus—Biological control; Entomology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/8779
• Institution: De La Salle University

The predatory capacity of two local populations of Mesocyclops aspericornis (Daday) and Mesocyclops ogunnus species were evaluated, for the first time in the Philippines, as a biological control agent for Aedes aegypti (L) mosquitoes. Under laboratory conditions, Mesocyclops attacked the mosquito first instar larvae by the tail, side and head. The mean of first instar larvae consumed by M. aspericornis and M. ogunnus were 23.96 and 15.00, respectively. An analysis of the variance showed that there was a highly significant difference between the mean number of first instar mosquito larvae consumed by M. aspericornis and by M. ogunnus, which indicated that the former is a more efficient predator of dengue mosquito larvae. The results of the small-scale field trials showed that the mean number of surviving larvae in experimental drums was 63.10 and in control drums was 202.95. The Student t-test of means indicated that there was a significant difference between the mean number of surviving larvae in the drums with and without M. aspericornis. The findings indicated that M. aspericornis females were good biological control agents, for they destroyed/consumed about two-thirds of the wild dengue mosquito larvae population.