Predation efficacy of Cyclopoid copepods against Aedes mosquitoes in Northern Italy

Aedes albopictus and Aedes koreicus are invasive mosquito species that have colonized northern Italy and are potentially zoonotic vectors. Cyclopoid copepods are natural predators of mosquito larvae and can be useful biological control agents in artificial containers used as breeding sites by Aedes mosquitoes. In this study, we evaluated the predation efficacy of two cyclopoid copepod species, Macrocyclops albidus and Mesocyclops leuckarti, common in natural conditions in northern Italy, against Ae. albopictus and Ae. koreicus larvae under laboratory conditions. In each predation test, one female adult copepod was placed with 50 first instar larvae of a single mosquito species in a small Petri dish filled with 10 mL of water. After 24 hours, the mean number (±standard error) of larvae killed by one M. albidus female was 18.6 ± 1.3 Ae. koreicus and 20.9 ± 1.3 Ae. albopictus, and the mean number killed by one M. leuckarti female was 25.8 ± 2.8 Ae. koreicus and 36.1 ± 4.2 Ae. albopictus. Predation tests were also conducted using larger Petri dishes filled with 30 mL of water, resulting in reduced predation rates. Our findings indicate that M. albidus and M. leuckarti are effective larval predators of Ae. albopictus and Ae. koreicus.