Breeding of Aedes aegypti and A. simpsoni under the escarpment of the Tanzanian plateau.

Abstract

Villages under the escarpment of the Tanzanian plateau were surveyed for breeding of Aedes aegypti. In some places more than 27% of the water containers outside houses harboured A. aegypti larvae, while there was practically no breeding in containers inside houses. From 2% to 10% of tree holes contained A. aegypti larvae. In places, as many as 47 A. simpsoni larvae were collected from one pineapple plant, and the total mean number of larvae per pineapple was 6.6, while the percentage of plants with larvae was as high as 93.6. The total mean number of larvae per colocasia plant was 2.9, but the number per banana plant was only 0.3. The plant Crinum was discovered to be a breeding site of A. simpsoni. Eggs of A. simpsoni were found in 55-80% of ovitraps placed in four villages. Of 20 traps found to contain eggs of this species 30% were in the village, 60% in gardens, and 10% at the edge of forest. It was observed that A. simpsoni females lay their eggs at all levels up to 5 m, but prefer ground level.