Predatory Potential of Nymphal Odonates on Aedes aegypti Developing in Freshwater and Brackish Water Habitats

• Published in: Insects (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 15; no. 7; p. 547
• Main Authors: Arthiyan, Sivasingham, Eswaramohan, Thampoe, Hemphill, Andrew, Surendran, Sinnathamby Noble
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 01-07-2024
• Subjects: Acclimatization; Aedes aegypti; Aquatic habitats; Aquatic insects; Biological control; Biological effects; Brackish water; clearance rate of predator; Climate change; Coasts; Dengue fever; dengue vector control; Drinking water; Effectiveness; Environmental aspects; Ethics; Experiments; Fresh water; Freshwater environments; Habitats; Humidity; Introduced species; Laboratories; Larvae; Mosquitoes; Nymphs; Nymphs (Biology); Odonata; Paracercion hieroglyphicum; Pests; Ponds; Predators; predatory rate; Salinity; Salinity effects; Salt; Sri Lanka; Vector-borne diseases; Vectors; Zoology; Sri Lanka; United States > US; South Korea; predatory rate; biological control; dengue vector control; clearance rate of predator; Sri Lanka
• ISSN: 2075-4450; 2075-4450
• DOI: 10.3390/insects15070547

, the primary vector of dengue, undergoes preimaginal development in brackish water (BW). However, dengue vector control exclusively targets freshwater (FW) habitats. The present study evaluated the predatory efficacy of nymphal odonates that can develop in both FW and BW. Nymphs of three damselfly and three dragonfly species from FW and BW habitats were identified and acclimatized to FW (<0.5 gL
salt) and BW (10 gL
salt) mesocosm conditions. The experiment was repeated nine times with nine different individual predators per species under both salinity conditions. One hundred L3
from FW and BW laboratory colonies were introduced to determine the predatory rate (PR) and clearance rate (CR) after 24, 48, and 72 h, and one hundred L3 larvae were introduced every 24 h. The dragonfly nymph
and the damselfly nymph
showed the highest PR and CR under both rearing conditions at all times. However, damselfly and dragonfly nymphs significantly (
< 0.05) differed in their CR under both FW and BW conditions. Thus, all six odonate species have predatory potential and this suggests that they could be used as biological control agents to eliminate preimaginal stages of
developing in both FW and BW habitats.