Larvicidal Efficiency of Citrus maxima against Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus
V. Askilla Pearlin *
Department of Zoology and Research Centre, Scott Christian College (Autonomous), Affiliated to Manonmanium Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India.
E. Grace Marin
Department of Zoology and Research Centre, Scott Christian College (Autonomous), Affiliated to Manonmanium Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Mosquitoes transmit serious human diseases, causing millions of deaths every year and developed resistance to chemical insecticides resulting in rebounding vectorial capacity. Plants are the alternative sources of mosquito control agents. In the present study, various concentrations of 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 mg of Citrus maxima (Brunnich) Merr. were tested against the third instar larvae of Aedes aegypti (Linn) and Aedes albopictus (Skuse). The highest larval mortality was found in the extract of C. maxima against third-instar larvae with P value = 0.0287. This study concluded that the increase in concentration of C. maxima extract increased the mortality of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.
Keywords: Mosquito, plants, C. maxima, A. aegypti, A. albopictus