Immatures of both
Aedes aegypti
and
Aedes albopictus
have been found in water-holding bromeliad axils in
Brazil. Removal of these plants or their treatment with insecticides in public and private gardens have been undertaken
during dengue outbreaks in Brazil despite uncertainty as to their importance as productive habitats for dengue
vectors. From March 2005-February 2006, we sampled 120 randomly selected bromeliads belonging to 10 species
in a public garden less than 200 m from houses in a dengue-endemic neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. A total of
2,816 mosquito larvae and pupae was collected, with an average of 5.87 immatures per plant per collection.
Culex
(Microculex) pleuristriatus and
Culex
spp of the Ocellatus Group were the most abundant culicid species, found in
all species of bromeliads; next in relative abundance were species of the genus
Wyeomyia
. Only two individuals of
Ae. aegypti (0.07%) and five of
Ae. albopictus (0.18%) were collected from bromeliads. By contrast, immatures of
Ae. aegypti were found in manmade containers in nearly 5% of nearby houses. These results demonstrate that bromeliads
are not important producers of
Ae. aegypti and
Ae. albopictus and, hence, should not be a focus for dengue
control. However, the results of this study of only one year in a single area may not represent outcomes in other
urban localities where bromeliads,
Ae. aegypti and dengue coincide in more disturbed habitats.