The effects of azadirachtin, methoxyfenozide, and tebufenozide on the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti

Mosquito control is important to control the spread of pathogens which are transmitted by the bites of infected mosquitoes. To this end, research has focused on insecticides that are insect specific and have relatively low impact on the environment. Here I report on the plant botanical azadirachtin and the ecdysone agonists methoxyfenozide and tebufenozide. Overall, my results suggest that azadirachtin and tebufenozide are not suitable for use as insecticides, even though they cause mortality at high doses. Methoxyfenozide kills mosquitoes at high doses and reduces the number of eggs oviposited by females. Additionally, methoxyfenozide is able to stimulate egg production in non-bloodfed females. However, it is not able to cause eggs to develop all the way to oviposition.