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Sublethal effects of atrazine and glyphosate on life history traits of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae)

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Abstract

Although exposure of mosquito larvae to agricultural chemicals such as herbicides is common and widespread, our understanding of how these chemicals affect mosquito ecology and behavior is limited. This study investigated how an environmentally relevant concentration of two herbicides, atrazine and glyphosate, affects mosquito life history traits. One hundred and fifty (150) first instar Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (L.) or Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse) larvae were reared in 1.6 L of live oak leaf (Quercus virginiana) infusion in the presence (5 mg/L) or absence (0 mg/L) of atrazine or glyphosate. The containers were monitored daily to determine the emergence rates, sex ratio, male and female emergence times, and female body size. Emergence rates of A. aegypti from atrazine treatment were significantly higher relative to either glyphosate or control treatments (A. aegypti: atrazine = 93 ± 6 % (±95 % CI), glyphosate = 82 ± 5 %, control = 78 ± 5 %), while emergence rates of A. albopictus in atrazine treatments were significantly higher than in glyphosate treatments but not in controls (A. albopictus: atrazine = 84 ± 5 %, glyphosate = 76 ± 4 %, control = 78 ± 4 %). For both mosquito species, a sex ratio distortion with male bias was observed in control and glyphosate treatments, but not in atrazine treatments (A. aegypti: atrazine = 0.90 ± 0.17 (±SE), glyphosate = 1.63 ± 0.21, control = 1.69 ± 0.26; A. albopictus: atrazine = 1.09 ± 0.08, glyphosate = 1.88 ± 0.12, control = 1.37 ± 0.11). Emergence times for both sexes of the two mosquito species were significantly longer in atrazine treatments compared to glyphosate or control treatments (A. aegypti: females: atrazine = 11.20 ± 0.50 (days ± 95 % CI), glyphosate = 9.71 ± 0.23, control = 9.87 ± 0.21; males: atrazine = 9.46 ± 0.27, glyphosate = 8.80 ± 0.25, control = 8.85 ± 0.24; A. albopictus: females: atrazine = 17.40 ± 1.70, glyphosate = 12.4 ± 0.40, control = 12.5 ± 0.30; males: atrazine = 12.96 ± 0.41, glyphosate = 10.48 ± 0.24, control = 10.64 ± 0.37). For A. albopictus but not A. aegypti, adult females from atrazine treatment had significantly longer wing lengths compared to those from glyphosate or control treatments (A. albopictus: atrazine = 3.06 ± 0.07 (mm ± 95 % CI), glyphosate = 2.80 ± 0.07, control = 2.83 ± 0.06). These results demonstrate the potential for atrazine, a widely used herbicide, to influence epidemiologically relevant life history traits of mosquitoes.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Nina Krasavin, Millon Blackshear, Julian Alvarado, Daniel Bernard, Thorsten Hansen, and Andrew Donelson for their assistance with daily maintenance of the experiment and Richard Lampman and Chang-Hyun Kim for their helpful comments on the manuscript. This study was supported by the Used Tire Fund and Emergency Public Health Fund from the State of Illinois and USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, hatch project number 875-334.

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  1. Illinois Natural History Survey, University of Illinois, 1816 S. Oak St., Champaign, IL, 61820, USA

    Jeffrey J. Bara, Allison Montgomery & Ephantus J. Muturi

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  1. Jeffrey J. Bara
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Correspondence to Jeffrey J. Bara.

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Bara, J.J., Montgomery, A. & Muturi, E.J. Sublethal effects of atrazine and glyphosate on life history traits of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae). Parasitol Res 113, 2879–2886 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-014-3949-y

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