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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #174315
Title: BIOLOGICAL CONTROL OF MOSQUITOES

Author
item Becnel, James

Submitted to: Technical Bulletin of the Florida Mosquito Control Association
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/15/2005
Publication Date: 7/1/2006
Citation: Becnel, J.J. 2006. Biological Control of Mosquitoes. Technical Bulletin of the Florida Mosquito Control Association. 7: 48-54.

Interpretive Summary: Biological control is generally defined as the manipulated reduction of an insect population by natural enemies (predators, parasites and pathogens). This is in contrast to natural control where the reduction of an insect pest population is by naturally occurring organisms and environmental factors without human input. Diverse complexes of natural enemies including predators, parasites and pathogens have been reported for mosquitoes and many have been evaluated as biological control agents. All mosquito control methods have advantages and limitations with best use depending on an in-depth understanding of the mosquito species to be controlled and the control agents. This article reviews the most promising groups of biological control agents for mosquito control and summarizes the information available on the practical application of these agents. In addition the prospects of several novel biocontrol agents are presented and discussed.

Technical Abstract: Biological control is generally defined as the manipulated reduction of an insect population by natural enemies (predators, parasites and pathogens). This is in contrast to natural control where the reduction of an insect pest population is by naturally occurring organisms and environmental factors without human input. Diverse complexes of natural enemies including predators, parasites and pathogens have been reported for mosquitoes and many have been evaluated as biological control agents. All mosquito control methods have advantages and limitations with best use depending on an in-depth understanding of the mosquito species to be controlled and the control agents. This article reviews the most promising groups of biological control agents for mosquito control and summarizes the information available on the practical application of these agents. In addition the prospects of several novel biocontrol agents are presented and discussed.