Review of complementary impact of using aquatic insect predators in mosquito biocontrol
Keywords:
Mosquitoes, Oviposition avoidance, Mosquito predators, Surplus killingAbstract
Mosquitoes are the most important blood-sucking arthropods of their annoyance and transmission pathogens of many serious and fatal human diseases, accounting for more than 17% of all infectious diseases. Globalization and climate changes have enhanced the dispersal of native mosquito species and endemic diseases and invasive new habitats. Mosquitoes have a complex life cycle, in which adults are terrestrial and select aquatic habitats for egg oviposition and immatures development. Culex spp. differ from Anophelin and Aedes species in that they can grow in brackish or mild organic polluted water. For mosquito control, the aquatic stages can be more easily controlled than flying adult insect pests. In recent decades, insect pest control has focused on biological control, which is an ecologically acceptable and practical alternative to insecticides in mosquito vector control. Predaceous insects are more efficient in pest control. Hematophagous mosquito populations in many temporary and permanent water resources can be controlled by laboratory cultivation and maintenance of the entomophagous insects that naturally inhabit aquatic ecosystems or introduction from other fauna. Also, the nonconsumptive effect of the predators reduces the vector fitness and alters the egg oviposition behavior of the gravid females. Understanding the mosquito (prey)-predator relationship and cohabitation can establish and choose effective mosquito predators. Today, there are applications of mosquito predators, besides promising others in mosquito vectors of borne diseases control programs. Most of these aquatic predators have been identified as mainly belonging to the following orders: Diptera (Culicidae, Chaoboridae, Ephydridae, and Chirinomidae), Coleoptera (Dytiscidae and Hydrophilidae), Hemiptera (Notonectidae, Coroxidae, Nepidae, Belostomatidae), and species from the suborders Anisoptera and Zygoptera of the Odonata order. This review reports the most applied and promising insect mosquito predators by their predation capacity and surplus killing. Also gives scope for oviposition avoidance by females as one strategy in mosquito control.
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