Impact of Nonconventional Selection by Insecticides on Susceptibility of the Southern House Mosquito,Culex quinquefasciatus

Abstract

Mosquitoes are an important target of pest control as they vector pathogens that are associated with many debilitating human diseases. Given that mosquitoes have been selected with insecticides for over 100 years, much is known about the development of insecticide resistance associated with targeted application against populations of these insects. However, off-target selection by applications of insecticides in agricultural and residential sites also impacts development of insecticide resistance and is understudied. Similarly, the impact of selecting one life stage of mosquitoes on the insecticide susceptibility of different life stages is largely unknown. Here, we show that susceptibility to chlorantraniliprole, which is applied in rice (Oryza sativa) and sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum) fields in Louisiana, decreased (5.7- to 12-fold) in populations of Culex quinquefasciatus collected from near these fields compared with a reference field strain. In addition, application of bifenthrin by commercial application on an individual residence increased the resistance frequencies to bifenthrin in 5 nearby residential sites. These increased frequencies of resistance, as measured with diagnostic concentrations of bifenthrin, were highly correlated (R2 = 0.92) between larvae and adults, suggesting that selection of adults also confers resistance to larvae. Finally, esterase activities and bifenthrin susceptibilities were moderately correlated (R2 = 0.4 for larvae and 0.52 for adults), suggesting that multiple mechanisms (including metabolism by esterases) were associated with the observed resistance. Results from this study suggest that nonconventional selection by insecticides is a variable to consider when developing management strategies for populations of Cx. quinquefasciatus.