Larvicidal efficacy of leaf extract of two botanicals against the mosquito vector Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae).

Abstract

Mosquitoes are the most important single group of insects in terms of public health. They transmit a number of diseases, such as malaria, filariasis, dengue fever, chikungunya, Japanese encephalitis, etc. causing millions of deaths every year. The application of easily degradable plant compounds is considered to be one of the safest methods to control insect pests and vectors as an alternative source for the synthetic pesticides. A study was made to monitor the effect of plant extracts on different instars of larvae and pupae of mosquito vector Aedes aegypti . Bio-assay was made using the solvent acetone to find out the median lethal concentration (LC 50 ). Plants, like Lantana camara Linn., Catharanthus roseus G. Don which possess insecticidal properties, are seemed to be better vector control agents than the synthetic xenobiotics.