Incidence and diel pattern of oviposition outdoors of the mosquito, Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) in Trinidad, W.I. in relation to solar aspect

Abstract

The incidence and diel patterns of oviposition of domestic Aedes aegypti in Trinidad, West Indies during the middle of the wet season (July and August) was compared, using modified ovitraps, in unshaded peridomestic outdoor sites facing east or west.

Sites close to each other along a transect differed greatly in the total eggs they received, 18·2% of sites receiving 50·6% of the eggs. Sites receiving most eggs were close to other breeding sites.

The incidence of oviposition in sites facing west, as measured by the number of eggs laid (>59%) and by the number of occurrences of eggs (>57%), was greater than in sites facing east. The diel pattern of oviposition was closely similar in sites facing east and west, indicating that the sun's azimuth at the moment of oviposition does not determine whether a female lays in sites facing east or west. The diel pattern of oviposition resembled an earlier study in being bimodal but differed from it in featuring a much larger morning peak (comprising more than 34% of eggs laid v. about 5% in the earlier study). This bimodal pattern closely resembles the diel periodicity of landing on humans described previously by several authors and is probably close to the typical oviposition pattern for Ae. aegypti; an artefact may have modified the oviposition periodicity characterized earlier. In the evening significantly more eggs were laid in sites facing west than in sites facing east. These findings have implications for effective placement of ovitraps for surveillance or suppression of Ae. aegypti, and give rise to an hypothesis which invokes responses to microclimate to account for the form of the bimodal oviposition pattern.