Influence of Temperature on Immature Development, Survival, Longevity, Fecundity, and Gonotrophic Cycles of Aedes albopictus, Vector of Chikungunya and Dengue in the Indian Ocean

ABSTRACT Aedes albopictus is a mosquito originating from Asia, which has extended its range worldwide the last decades. It is a competent vector for several arboviruses. It was first described in La Reunion (an island of the South West part of the Indian Ocean) in 1913. Since then, it has become the dominant Aedes species and a serious threat to public health, especially during the two last arboviruses outbreaks of dengue (1977) and chikungunya (2005–2006). Despite its pest status, data on the biology of this vector are scarce, especially the population present in the Indian Ocean (IO), which has never been studied in detail. Therefore, the immature development, survival, longevity, fecundity, and gonotrophic cycles of Ae. albopictus were studied for an F2 population of the IO. These biological parameters were studied in controlled conditions at eight constant temperatures (5, 10,15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40°C). The minimal threshold of immature stages development was found at 10.4°C and its optimum at 29.7...