Influences of some freshwater plants on the development and survival of mosquito larvae in British Columbia

Abstract

Six species of freshwater aquatic plants and an alga (Characeae) collected in southern British Columbia markedly reduced the number of adult mosquitoes emerging from experimental tanks by influencing larval development and survival. One of the plants and the green alga apparently produce juvenile hormone-like compounds, one species ingests mosquito larvae, and two operate by facilitating the presence and activity of predators of the larvae.