Control of the mosquito Anopheles pseudopunctipennis (Diptera: Culicidae) with Romanomermis iyengari (Nematoda: Mermithidae) in Oaxaca, Mexico

We evaluated the effect of monthly applications of Romanomermis iyengari on populations of larval stages of the mosquito Anopheles pseudopunctipennis, in an endemic area of malaria in Pochutla, Oaxaca, Mexico. In 1999, applications of R. iyengari were made for 9 months on four natural breeding sites of An. pseudopunctipennis with a total area of approximately 30,000 m2. An application rate of 3000 nematodes m−2 was used. Parasitism of mosquito larvae ranged from 46 to 100%, and the population reduction of the mosquito larvae varied from 38.1 to 99.8%. In two breeding sites R. iyengari was able to recycle and persisted for 5 months. The monthly applications of R. iyengari efficiently controlled the populations of larval An. pseudopunctipennis, thus reducing the risk of malaria transmission to people living nearby breeding sites.