Effects of constant and variable temperature and blood-meal sources on development time, survival, and fecundity of separate and mixed populations of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae

Development times and survival were determined for separate and mixed populations of Aedes aegypti (L.) and Aedes albopictus (Skuse) reared with optimal diet at 7 constant laboratory temperatures ranging from 16 to 36°C and for 4 tests at variable outdoor temperatures with average temperatures ranging from 21.0 to 27.6°C. The blood-meal source, human or chicken, from which the eggs were derived, was also tested within each species group. Fecundity and hatch rates were determined for populations of Ae. aegpyti and Ae. albopictus reared at 16, 28, and 34°C. Development rate parameters were determined from the constant temperature data using Sharpe and DeMichele's (1977) model of poikilotherm development as modified by Schoolfield et al. (1981).;The Ae. aegypti populations developed faster and had higher survival rates than the Ae. albopictus populations at constant and variable temperatures. Neither species was able to complete development at a constant temperature of 36°C. Rearing in separate or mixed populations did not affect development times. The development times for the Ae. aegypti treatments were the fastest reported development times for this species in a constant temperature experiment. The constant temperature development times for the Ae. albopictus treatments were the first reported for this species.;At 34°C, viable egg production and hatch rates dropped severely for the Ae. albopictus treatments, whereas, egg production for the Ae. aegypti treatments dropped slightly. Hatch rates for the Ae. aegypti treatments at 34°C were consistent with other tested temperatures. The Ae. aegypti hatch rates at other temperatures were also higher than those recorded for Ae. albopictus. Chicken blood produced more eggs than human blood for the Ae. aegypti treatments, but no difference between the egg production and the blood-meal source was noted for the Ae. albopictus treatments.;A linear regression was used to estimate the lower developmental threshold (LDT) for separate populations in the constant and variable temperature studies. The estimated LDT for Ae. aegypti was 11.14 and 8.95°C for the constant and variable temperature studies, respectively. The estimated LDT for Ae. albopictus was 10.72 and 7.09°C for the constant and variable temperature studies, respectively. These estimates suggest that Ae. albopictus may develop at lower temperatures than Ae. aegypti.