Mosquitoes and Bromeliads
view on EDIS
PDF 2021

Categories

How to Cite

Romero-Weaver, Ana, L. Philip Lounibos, and Eva A. Buckner. 2021. “Mosquitoes and Bromeliads: ENY2073/IN1343, 12/2021”. EDIS 2021 (6). Gainesville, FL. https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-in1343-2021.

Abstract

Water can collect in the central tanks or axils of bromeliads, and immature stages of mosquitoes sometimes inhabit these small pools. This article provides recommendations for environmentally acceptable ways to control the production of nuisance mosquitoes in bromeliads; suggestions for planting species of bromeliads less likely to favor the production of mosquito-borne disease vectors; and general advice about personal protection against mosquito bites.

https://doi.org/10.32473/edis-in1343-2021
view on EDIS
PDF 2021

References

Benzing, D. H. 1990. Vascular epiphytes. General biology and related biota. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

Benzing, D. H. 2000. Bromeliaceae: Profile of an adaptive radiation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 690.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2020. “Larvicides.” August 24, 2020. Accessed February 25, 2021. https://www.cdc.gov/mosquitoes/mosquito-control/community/larvicides.html.

Frank, J. H. 2021. “Bromeliad Biota.” Accessed April 21, 2021. http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/frank/bromeliadbiota/index.htm

Frank, J. H. and L. P. Lounibos. 2009. “Insects and Allies Associated with Bromeliads: A Review.” Terrestrial Arthropod Review 1:125–153. doi: 10.1163/187498308X414742.

Frank, J. H., J. P. Stewart, and D. A. Watson. 1988. “Mosquito Larvae in the Axils of the Imported Bromeliad Billbergia pyramidalis in Southern Florida.” Florida Entomologist 71:33–44. https://journals.flvc.org/flaent/article/view/58346.

Gomez, A. 2016. “Miami’s Beloved Shrub Is a Zika Breeding Ground.” U.S.A. Today, September 12, 2016. Accessed February 18, 2021. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/09/12/zika-miami-bromeliad-mosquito-breeding-ground/90269966/.

Holst, B. K., and H. E. Luther. 2004. “Bromeliaceae (Bromeliad family).” In Flowering Plants of the Neotropics. Edited by N. Smith, S. A. Mori, A. Henderson, D. W. Stevenson, and S. V. Heald. Princeton: Princeton University Press; Princeton, New Jersey, U.S.A: pp. 418–421.

Kitching, R. L. 2000. “Food Webs and Container Habitats: The Ecology and Natural History of Phytotelmata.” Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England.

Lounibos, L. P., G. F. O’Meara, and N. Nishimura. 2003. “Interactions with native mosquito larvae regulate the production of Aedes albopictus from bromeliads in Florida.” Ecological. Entomology 28:551–558. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2311.2003.00543.x.

Luther, H. E., and D. H. Benzing. 2009. Native Bromeliads of Florida. Pineapple Press Inc. Sarasota, Florida.

Mocellin, M. G., T. C. Simões, T. F. Silva do Nascimento, M. L. F. Teixera, L. P. Lounibos, and R. Lourenço de Oliveira. 2009. “Bromeliad-inhabiting mosquitoes in an urban botanical garden of dengue endemic Rio de Janeiro – are bromeliads productive habitats for the invasive vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus?” Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz 104:1171–1176. doi: 10.1590/S0074-02762009000800015.

North, G. B., F. H. Lynch, F. D. Maharaj, C. A. Phillips, and W. T. Woodside. 2013. “Leaf Hydraulic Conductance for a Tank Bromeliad: Axial and Radial Pathways for Moving and Conserving Water.” Frontiers in Plant Science. 4:78. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2013.00078.

O’Meara, G. F., M. M. Cutwa, and L. F. Evans. 2003. “Bromeliad-Inhabiting Mosquitoes in South Florida: Native and Exotic Plants Differ in Species Composition.” Journal of Vector Ecology 28:37–46.

Raban, R. R. 2006. “Studies of Aedes albopictus Oviposition and Larval Density, Development and Interactions with Wyeomyia spp. in Southern Florida.” MSc thesis, Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville.

Santos, C. B., G. R. Leite, and A. Falqueto. 2011. “Does (sic) Native Bromeliads Represent Important Breeding Sites for Aedes aegypti in Urbanized Areas?” Neotropical Entomology 40:278–281. doi: 10.1590/s1519-566x2011000200019.

Wilke, A. B. B., C. Vasquez, P. J. Mauriello, and J. C. Beier. 2018. “Ornamental Bromeliads of Miami-Dade County, Florida Are Important Breeding Sites for Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)” Parasites and Vectors: 11:283–289. doi: 10.1186/s13071-018-2866-9.

Xue, R-D, C. Lippi, and L. Drake. 2018. “Species Composition of Mosquitoes and Invertebrates in Common Bromeliad Plant Axils (Family: Bromeliaceae) and the Plant Impacts on Survival of Vector Mosquito Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae).” China Tropical Medicine 18:6–10. doi: 10.13604/j.cnki.46-1064/r.2018.01.01.

Copyright (c) 2021 UF/IFAS