Desiccation resistance in Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus eggs

Causative influences that impact the separation of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus populations in different geographic areas were determined. The eggs of Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti collected from McAllen and Brownsville, Texas, and laboratory populations of these two species were subjected to 25 temperature and relative humidity combinations for up to three months. In most treatments, Ae. aegypti eggs had a greater percent hatch than Ae. albopictus.

The surface area, volume and surface-area-to-volume ratio of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus eggs with and without the chorionic egg pad, and the size of the chorionic egg pad were calculated for fifty eggs of each species of mosquito from the afore mentioned populations. Ae. aegypti had a larger egg volume, and a larger surface area; but, it is likely their larger chorionic egg pad compensates for this high surface-area-to-volume ratio by holding moisture along the egg’s surface and that the egg pad is associated with the high desiccation resistance seen in Ae. aegypti eggs