Ecological Studies on Aedes Simpsoni (Diptera: Culicidae) in Southeastern Nigeria1

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Abstract
This study was undertaken to determine the productivity and survival rates of immature Aedes simpsoni in plant axils in Nigeria; host preferences and resting sites of the adults were also studied. In the vicinity of Enugu the larval densities were highest during July, August and September. The axils of cocoyam (Colocasia esculenta) were the most effective producers of immatures, followed by banana/plantain (Musa spp.), pineapple and Dracaena sp. Since Ae. simpsoni preferred fresh, fully formed axils to experimental oviposition sites, the larval densities obtained in surveys with bamboo cups and CDC black-jar ovitraps declined as the natural habitats became available during the wet season. The highest mortality rates of Ae. simpsoni in cocoyam axils occurred during the 3rd and 4th instars; the overall mortality rate was 97.9%, which was in agreement with the daily emergence rates. In comparisons of bait-net catches from human bait and other animals, and sweep-net collections from different biotopes, too few Ae. simpsoni were collected to draw formal conclusions with respect to host preference and preferred resting sites, although there is evidence that Ae. simpsoni bites man near human habitations in southeastern Nigeria.