Establecimiento y Reciclaje de Nematodos Romanomermis culicivorax¹para el Control de Larvas de Mosquitos Culex quinquefasciatus²en Criaderos Artificiales

We tested the parasitic capacity of the nematode Romanomermis culicivorax on Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito larvae in artificial breeding sites, and their establishment for continuous parasitism in situ. Parasitism rates ranged between 30.05 to 45.07% and infestation rates of 0.52 to 1.21 nematodes per larva. A directly proportional relationship between parasitism and infestation was presented in the six artificial breeding sites. We recorded the highest levels of parasitism during August and October, and a decrease between December and February. We established the R. culicivorax nematode in artificial breeding grounds for more than 468 days, significantly decreasing the number of mosquito larvae and showing the tool is a permanent and temporary control alternative against Cx. quinquefasciatus that does not require expensive mass breeding and with significant production yields, as well as being safe for associated aquatic fauna and people.