title: Standard operating procedures for standardized mass rearing of the dengue and chikungunya vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) - I - egg quantification.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Quantification of eggs prior to rearing the immature stages of mosquitoes is an essential step in establishing a standardized mass rearing system. To develop a simple and accurate method of egg quantification for Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, the relationship between egg number and weight, as well as egg number and volume, were studied.
  
  
  METHODS
  Known quantities of eggs (1,000, 3,000, 6,000, 12,000, 15,000, 18,000, 21,000 and 27,000) were counted and subsequently their weight and volume were measured. Best-fit curves and regression equations were used to describe relationships between Aedes egg number and both weight and volume.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighteen thousand Ae. aegypti eggs weighed 159.8 mg and had a volume of 277.4 μl, compared to measurements of 131.5 mg and 230.3 μl for Ae. albopictus. The eggs of Ae. aegypti were thus larger and heavier than those of Ae. albopictus. The use of weight and volume to quantify egg number was validated by counting volumes and weights of eggs expected to correspond to 3,000 and 18,000 eggs of each species; significant correlations were found in all cases except in the case of 3,000 Ae. albopictus eggs measured by volume.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Methods for egg quantification were validated and shown to be a consistent and practical means to achieve uniform distribution of Aedes larvae between rearing trays, important for optimal mass rearing of the immature stages of Aedes mosquitoes.
authors.affiliation: Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria. zmlkk@126.com.|Beneficial Insects Institute, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian Province, China. zmlkk@126.com.
authors.forename: Min-Lin
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria. D.Zhang@iaea.org.
authors.forename: Dong-Jing
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria. damiensdavid@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: David D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Damiens
authors.affiliation: Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria. hanano78@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Hanano
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yamada
authors.affiliation: Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, Austria. j.gilles@iaea.org.
authors.forename: Jeremie R L
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Gilles
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000254:growth & development*; D000818:Animals; D065632:Chikungunya Fever / Q000635:transmission*; D003715:Dengue / Q000635:transmission*; D046149:Embryo Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000254:growth & development*; D010063:Ovum / Q000166:cytology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013045:Species Specificity; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology