title: Development of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) Larvae Under Different Laboratory Conditions.
abstract: Critical to successful application of the sterile insect technique against Aedes albopictus (Skuse) is the development of an efficient and standardized rearing protocol to be employed in the mass production system. In this study, several life history traits of Ae. albopictus were analyzed to identify upper and lower thresholds of larval density and diet concentration. Survival to pupation, time to pupation, and sex ratio were evaluated under a range of larval densities (0.5-5 larvae/ml) and food levels (0.05-1.6 mg/larva/d) using two larval diets (one locally developed; one developed by the FAO/IAEA). The larvae reared at 28 °C, at a density of 2 larvae/ml and receiving a food dose equal to 0.6 mg/larva/d of a diet consisting of 50% tuna meal, 50% bovine liver powder (the FAO/IAEA diet), and, as an additive, 0.2 g of Vitamin Mix per 100 ml of diet solution, developed in 5 d and had 90% survival to the pupal stage. With this rearing regime male pupae production 24 h after the onset of pupation was the highest; these pupae were ∼94% male.
authors.affiliation: Medical and Veterinary Entomology Department, Centro Agricoltura Ambiente 'G. Nicoli', via Argini Nord 3351, 40014 Crevalcore, Italy (apuggioli@caa.it; mcarrieri@caa.it; amedici72@gmail.com; rbellini@caa.it).|Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agroambientali, Università di Bologna, Viale G. Fanin 42, 40127 Bologna, Italy (marialuisa.dindo@unibo.it)Corresponding author, e-mail: apuggioli@caa.it, and.|Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramerstrasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria (Rosemary.Lees@lstmed.ac.uk; J.Gilles@iaea.org).
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Puggioli
authors.affiliation: Medical and Veterinary Entomology Department, Centro Agricoltura Ambiente 'G. Nicoli', via Argini Nord 3351, 40014 Crevalcore, Italy (apuggioli@caa.it; mcarrieri@caa.it; amedici72@gmail.com; rbellini@caa.it).
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carrieri
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Agroambientali, Università di Bologna, Viale G. Fanin 42, 40127 Bologna, Italy (marialuisa.dindo@unibo.it)Corresponding author, e-mail: apuggioli@caa.it, and.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Dindo
authors.affiliation: Medical and Veterinary Entomology Department, Centro Agricoltura Ambiente 'G. Nicoli', via Argini Nord 3351, 40014 Crevalcore, Italy (apuggioli@caa.it; mcarrieri@caa.it; amedici72@gmail.com; rbellini@caa.it).
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Medici
authors.affiliation: Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramerstrasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria (Rosemary.Lees@lstmed.ac.uk; J.Gilles@iaea.org).|Current address: LITE (Liverpool Insect Testing Establishment), Vector Biology Department, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Pembroke Place, Liverpool L3 5QA.
authors.forename: R S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Lees
authors.affiliation: Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramerstrasse 5, A-1400 Vienna, Austria (Rosemary.Lees@lstmed.ac.uk; J.Gilles@iaea.org).
authors.forename: J R L
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Gilles
authors.affiliation: Medical and Veterinary Entomology Department, Centro Agricoltura Ambiente 'G. Nicoli', via Argini Nord 3351, 40014 Crevalcore, Italy (apuggioli@caa.it; mcarrieri@caa.it; amedici72@gmail.com; rbellini@caa.it).
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bellini
mesh_terms: D000330:Aedes / Q000254:growth & development*; D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D007814:Larva / Q000254:growth & development; D008136:Longevity; D008297:Male; D011679:Pupa / Q000254:growth & development; D012744:Sex Ratio
keywords: Aedes albopictus; development time; larval rearing; sterile insect technique; survival rate