Abstract
Ecological and economic harm by invasive species is exemplified by some Aedes mosquitoes. Their pathogen transmission to humans and wildlife has generated much research concerning how biopesticides induce larval mortality. The response of ovipositing females to biopesticides is less well understood and shows inter- and intraspecific variation. Quantifying this variation is crucial for reducing vector populations and disease outbreaks. We examined how invasive (Aedes albopictus and A. japonicus) and native (Culex restuans) ovipositing mosquitoes responded to the presence of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI), B. sphaericus (BS), their combination, and controls lacking biopesticides and how this affected larval survivorship. A. albopictus females laid more eggs at control sites (p = 0.0005), C. restuans deposited more eggs with biopesticides (p < 0.0001), and A. japonicus did not respond to treatments when laying eggs (p = 0.3128). Larval survivorship with biopesticides was 0.0% in all species (p < 0.0001). Female avoidance suggests that behavioral resistance to biopesticides can occur at oviposition (A. albopictus); attraction (C. restuans) or no response (A. japonicus) could generate ecological traps. Oviposition habitat selection in response to biopesticides varies within and among species and might reduce or enhance larval mortality, population abundance, and the success of vector control programs.
