Efficacies of four plant essential oils as larvicide, pupicide and oviposition deterrent agents against dengue fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti Linn.(Diptera: Culicidae)

Objective:To evaluate larvicidal,pupicidal and oviposition deterrent activities of four plant essential oils from Alpinia galanga(L.)Willd rhizome,Anethum graveolens L.(An.graveolens)fruit,Foeniculum vulgare Mill.fruit,and Pimpinella anisum L.fruit against Aedes aegypti(Ae.aegypti).Methods:Four essential oils at 1%,5%and 10%concentrations were assessed for insecticidal activity against larvae and pupae of Ae.aegypti,following the procedure of a dipping method assay.Oviposition deterrent activity of four essential oils was evaluated on gravid female of Ae.aegypti by a dual-choice oviposition bioassay.Results:The results revealed that An.graveolens oil provided the strongest larvicidal activity against Ae.aegypti among four tested plant essential oils with the highest mortality rate of 100%and LC_(50)value of-0.3%.From the pupicidal experiment,An.graveolens also showed the highest toxicity against Ae.aegypti pupae with the highest mortality rate of 100%at 72 h and LC_(50)value of2.9%.In addition,10%An.graveolens had an oviposition deterrent effect against Ae.aegypti with effective repellency of 100%and an oviposition activity index of-1.0.Conclusions:An.graveolens oil has a good potential as a larvicidal,pupicidal and oviposition deterrent agent for controlling Ae.aegypti.