THE COMMUNITY ECOLOGY OF AEDES EGG HATCHING - IMPLICATIONS FOR A MOSQUITO INVASION

1. A recently introduced treehole mosquito from Asia, Aedes albopictus, is spreading throughout eastern North America, especially in tyre-refuse piles. Previous studies have identified inhibitory effects of larvae on egg hatch as a potential population regulatory mechanism within Aedes. Larva-egg interactions may also occur between species. This experiment assesses the ability of larvae of A. albopictus and two possible competitors in North America, A.triseriatus and A.aegypti, to suppress hatching of conspecific and congeneric eggs. 2. We exposed eggs of each species to varying combinations of larval species and density for 24 h and assessed subsequent hatch rates. Aedes albopictus eggs exhibited the lowest level of inhibition when exposed to high larval densities; moreover, at the lowest larval density they imposed the most intense interspecific hatch inhibition. 3. Discretionary hatching in response to larval density may influence community composition by promoting the spread of A.albopictus, perhaps even leading to its dominance within North American Aedes communities.