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Virginia Tech

Morphological differentiation of eggs and comparative efficacy of oviposition and gravid traps for Aedes vectors at different habitats

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

Mosquito surveillance is an integral part of understanding mosquito-borne disease, including and not limited to the La Crosse virus. The primary container-inhabiting Aedeni vectors include Aedes triseritatus, Aedes albopictus, and Aedes japonicus. To better understand the efficacy of gravid traps and oviposition traps as surveillance methods for these mosquitoes, field studies were conducted in three different habitat types. Ae. triseriatus, Ae. albopictus, Ae. japonicus, and Aedes aegypti eggs were described with the aid of color images and SEM. All eggs were broadly cigar shaped with Ae. triseriatus and Ae. japonicus eggs being dull or matte black while Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti eggs were shiny jet black. Ae. triseriatus eggs were larger, lighter in color, and have a rougher appearance when compared to Ae. japonicus. Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti can be differentiated by the distinct presence of a micropylar collars in Ae. aegypti. Ovitrap and gravid trap efficacy for the surveillance of Ae. triseriatus, Ae. albopictus, and Ae. japonicus were measured in three different habitats on two different sites. Both sites contained the same 2ha habitats with varying degrees of forest canopy disturbance. Ae. triseriatus was the most abundant mosquito on all sites. Ovitraps and gravid traps were efficient in collecting Ae. triseriatus, while ovitraps were not efficient in collecting Ae. japonicus and Ae. albopictus.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science in Life Sciences
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Entomology
Department dc:contributor.department
Entomology
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2014

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Bova, Jacob Edward
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Paulson, Sally L.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Hawley, Dana M.
  • Brewster, Carlyle C.

Subjects

dc:subject × 5

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:2804
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/64360

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Bova, Jacob Edward. Morphological differentiation of eggs and comparative efficacy of oviposition and gravid traps for Aedes vectors at different habitats. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/64360