Examining Wing Length–Abundance Relationships and Pyrethroid Resistance Mutations among Aedes albopictus in a Rapidly Growing Urban Area with Implications for Mosquito Surveillance and Control

Department of Geography and Earth Sciences and Center for Applied Geographic Information Science, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA

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Academy Population Health Initiative, Charlotte, NC 28223, USA

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School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South Africa

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Paul B. Tchounwou

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18(18), 9443; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189443

Received: 23 July 2021 / Revised: 24 August 2021 / Accepted: 27 August 2021 / Published: 7 September 2021

(This article belongs to the Section Global Health)

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Abstract

Aedes albopictus is a cosmopolitan mosquito species capable of transmitting arboviruses such as dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. To control this and similar species, public and private entities often rely on pyrethroid insecticides. In this study, we screened Ae. albopictus collected from June to August 2017 in Mecklenburg County, a rapidly growing urban area of North Carolina, for mutations conferring pyrethroid resistance and examined spatiotemporal patterns of specimen size as measured by wing length, hypothesizing that size variation could be closely linked to local abundance, making this easily measured trait a useful surveillance proxy. The genetic screening results indicated that pyrethroid resistance alleles are not present in this population, meaning that this population is likely to be susceptible to this commonly used insecticide class. We detected no significant associations between size and abundance-related factors, indicating that wing-size is not a useful proxy for abundance, and thus not useful to surveillance in this capacity. However, mosquitoes collected in June were significantly larger than July or August, which may result from meteorological conditions, suggesting that short-term weather cues may modulate morphological traits, which could then affect local fecundity and virus transmission dynamics, as previously reported. View Full-Text

Keywords: Aedes albopictus; pyrethroid resistance; morphological traits; weather cues

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MDPI and ACS Style

Mundis, S.J.; Hamerlinck, G.; Stone, E.K.; Whiteman, A.; Delmelle, E.; Rapp, T.; Dulin, M.; Ryan, S.J. Examining Wing Length–Abundance Relationships and Pyrethroid Resistance Mutations among Aedes albopictus in a Rapidly Growing Urban Area with Implications for Mosquito Surveillance and Control. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021, 18, 9443. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189443

AMA Style

Mundis SJ, Hamerlinck G, Stone EK, Whiteman A, Delmelle E, Rapp T, Dulin M, Ryan SJ. Examining Wing Length–Abundance Relationships and Pyrethroid Resistance Mutations among Aedes albopictus in a Rapidly Growing Urban Area with Implications for Mosquito Surveillance and Control. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2021; 18(18):9443. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189443

Chicago/Turabian Style

Mundis, Stephanie J., Gabriela Hamerlinck, Emily K. Stone, Ari Whiteman, Eric Delmelle, Tyler Rapp, Michael Dulin, and Sadie J. Ryan. 2021. "Examining Wing Length–Abundance Relationships and Pyrethroid Resistance Mutations among Aedes albopictus in a Rapidly Growing Urban Area with Implications for Mosquito Surveillance and Control" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18, no. 18: 9443. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18189443

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Examining Wing Length–Abundance Relationships and Pyrethroid Resistance Mutations among Aedes albopictus in a Rapidly Growing Urban Area with Implications for Mosquito Surveillance and Control

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