THE ELIMINATING ABILITY OF UTRICULARIA AUREA LOUR ON FIRST STAGE LARVAE OF AEDES AEGYPTI MOSQUITO

Abstract

Utricularia aurea (U. aurea) Lour. is an aquatic carnivorous plant. It has small bags on its

branches that act as floats and traps to catch small insects in the water. This study aimed to evaluate the eliminating ability of this plant on first stage larvae of mosquito number on different. To compare the capture ability of U. aurea on 1st and 2nd stage larvae. U. aurea was placed in a beaker, 15 cm in diameter and 15.5 cm high. It was filled with 1,000 ml of water. Each test container was filled with 25, 75, 100, 200 and 500 larvae and left 24 hours. The control group was prepared similarly with 25, 75, 100, 200,500 larvae but with Limnophila heterophylla in the control group, which does not trap insects. The results revealed the numbers of 25, 75, 100, 200 and 500 first stage larvae trapped by U. aurea were 24.75±0.50, 73.75±0.50, 98.50±0.57, 198±0.81 and 487.75+9.00, respectively. Results of 500 1st and 2nd instar larvae with U. area were 487.75+9.00 and 470.75+18.01, respectively. The comparison of 1st and 2nd instar testing was not significant differences (p > O.O5). The findings of these experiments showed that U. aurea can have an effect on mosquito larvae with high eliminate ability. It may be used as a candidating agent for biological control of mosquitoes in Thailand.