Seasonal Occurrence of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) at the Ports of Entry on the Island of Kauai

Abstract

The populations (represented by egg numbers) of Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus (Skuse) at three ports of entry on the island of Kauai, Hawaii have been monitored for two years by use of “ovitraps”. At the two undisturbed environments (the Nawiliwili Harbor and the Port Allen Harbor) the populations of A. albopictus went through a seasonal cycle. A distinct peak appeared in late spring or early summer. At a disturbed environment (the Lihue Airport) both abundance and pattern of occurrence of A. albopictus were affected. At the two wetter sites (the Lihue Airport and the Nawiliwili Harbor), no significant correlation was found between the egg numbers and rainfalls. However, at the drier site (the Port Allen Harbor) correlation between the egg numbers and rainfalls were significant. Also, our results showed that there were no significant differences between the average monthly egg numbers per trap from 2001 and 2002 at each site, indicating that populations were quite stable during these two years.