The female mosquito needs blood to nourish her young.
The Aedes mosquito can spread dengue fever, Chikungunya and yellow fever. Dengue fever is often called "Bone break" fever because of the pain caused. Chikungunya is translated as "that which bends up," a condition caused by the cramping and arthritic symptoms of the disease. Each of these illnesses can cause life-threatening complications. Since the Aedes mosquito is one of the few known to breed in even clean water conditions, it is also the easiest to breed. Scientists breed these mosquitoes for the purpose of finding a reasonably safe way to eliminate them and prevent the spread of these diseases.
Instructions
Breeding Aedes For Conducting Experiments
1. Provide an area of damp soil inside a net-enclosed container. The netting has to be fine and in a suitable frame that does not allow sagging which could create an escape route for the insects. Unlike many species of mosquito, the Aedes lays it's eggs in dampened soil, not directly floating on the water's surface. The eggs, which can lay dormant for up to nine months, are 'activated' when the area floods. The soil these eggs are laid in is close enough to water that flooding is likely. The versatility of the substrate these eggs can hatch in means that the Aedes can lay their eggs close to clean water sources as well as the dirty stagnant waters. The eggs hatch into larvae 48 hours after being 'activated.'
2. Provide organic matter for the larvae to feed on. This matter can be decaying plant materials, fish feces and blood, or any other organic matter. The Aedes mosquito molts, or sheds its skin, four times and then enters the pupa stage.
3. Isolate the container and unit with the pupa and leave them alone for a period of two days. The pupal stage is when the mosquito is being formed inside a shell. The adult mosquito emerges after the pupal shell splits. It is at this point that the adult Aedes rests on the surface of the water waiting for its wings to dry and be ready to fly.
4. Feed the adult females with blood in containers that can be easily slipped in and out of the sealed container without releasing the mosquitos. Unlike other mosquitos, the Aedes feed during the daylight and not at night. Their bite is known to be some of the more painful of all species of mosquitoes.
Breeding Aedes Mosquitoes through Neglect
5. Leave bird baths, pet bowls and vases half filled with water without daily cleaning them out. Air conditioning condenser trays are also excellent sources for new mosquito larva and these are rarely cleaned or checked thoroughly.
6. Avoid using sand granular insecticides in any areas which trap water including gutters, ponds, vases, tires and air conditioning condenser trays. Doing so can kill the eggs, larvae and pupa and in many cases the adults that emerge from the pupal stage. Some of these insecticides are found in floating form which disperses the chemical over the top of the water killing not just the Aedes, but also many other species of mosquito as well.
7. Remove covers from garbage cans, barrels and gully traps. Covers prevent the female mosquito from accessing the water and laying her eggs.
8. Pack the potting soil in your outdoor plants tightly so that just enough water remains on the surface to help hatch the eggs. The fertilizer in the soils act as a perfect substrate, offering a female Aedes the ideal neighborhood for her children. Do not attempt to aerate the soil by loosening the soil to allow the water to absorb deep into the potted soil.
Tags: Aedes mosquito, Aedes Mosquitoes, Breeding Aedes, clean water, condenser trays, conditioning condenser, conditioning condenser trays