International Journal of Entomology Research 29 International Journal of Entomology Research ISSN: 2455-4758; Impact Factor: RJIF 5.24 www.entomologyjournals.com Volume 1; Issue 6; September 2016; Page No. 29-33 Mosquitocidal properties of Pouzolzia bennettiana var. acuta (Urticaceae) leaf extracts against three important human vector mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) 1 G Ramar, 2 A Jeyasankar 1 PG & Research Department of Zoology, Arignar Anna Government Arts College, Musiri, Tamil Nadu, India 2 PG & Research Department of Zoology, Government Arts College (Autonomous), Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India Abstract To determine the larvicidal and pupicidal activity of Pouzolzia bennettiana var. acuta leaf extracts against Aedes aegypti, Anopheles stephensi and Culex quinquefasciatus. The larvicidal activity was determined against three vector mosquito species at concentrations of 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 ppm. Larval and pupal mortality was assessed after 24 hours. The leaf extracts of Pouzolzia bennettiana var. acuta was found to be more susceptible against the larvae of Ae. aegypti, An. stephensi and Cx. quinquefasciatus. Insecticidal susceptibility tests were carried out using WHO standard method and the mortality was observed after 24-h exposure. All the tested oils showed moderate to good larvicidal and pupicidal activityes. However, the maximum larval mortality was detected in plant of Ethyl acetate extract against An. Stephensi 94.4% (LC 50 45.2 and LC 95 268.99). The maximum pupal mortality was detected in plant of Ethyl acetate extract in Ethyl acetate extract against Cx. quinquefasciatus 64.6 % 85.2%(LC 50 78.66 and LC 95 770.80). These results suggested that the leaf extracts of Pouzolzia bennettiana var. acuta showed potential to be used as an ideal ecofriendly approach for the control of the Ae. aegypti, An. stephensi and Cx. quinquefasciatus. Keywords: larvicidal and pupicidal, Pouzolzia bennettiana var. acuta, Leaf extract, Ae. aegypti, An. stephensi and Cx. quinquefasciatus 1. Introduction In India, Mosquito borne diseases constitute a major public health problem in the list of communicable diseases e.g., malaria, dengue, chikungunya, filariasis, Japanese encephalitis, and leishmaniasis, cause thousands of deaths per year. India reports 1.48 million malarial cases and about 1,173 deaths, 1.4 million suspected and 1,985 confirmed chikungunya cases, 5,000 Japanese encephalitis cases and approximately 1,000 deaths, and 383 dengue cases and 6 deaths during 2006 and 2007 (WHO 2007; Gopalan and Das 2009; Dhiman et al. 2010) [1, 2] . Ae. aegypti is the principal vector of dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic fever and it is reported to infect more than 100 million people every year in more than 110 countries in the tropics. Thus one of the approaches for control of these mosquito-borne diseases is the interruption of disease transmission by killing or preventing mosquitoes to bite human beings (Rajmohan, et al.). An. stephensi (Liston) is the primary vector of malaria in India and other west Asian countries and improved methods of control are urgently needed (Bufield T and Reekie SL, 2005) [5] . Insect vector especially mosquitoes are responsible for spreading serious human diseases like malaria (Halsted SB, 2000) [6] . In India around 20,000 medicinal plants have been recorded recently, but more than 500 traditional communities use about 800 plant species for curing different diseases (Kalaivani et al., 2012) [7] . Therefore the present study was carried out to determine the larvicidal and pupicidal activity of Pouzolzia bennettiana var. acuta leaf extracts against important vectors Ae. aegypti, An. stephensi and Cx. quinquefasciatus. 2. Materials and Methods Plant material The leaves of Pouzolzia bennettiana var. acuta were collected from Pulliansolai, Kolli hills, namakkal District, Tamil Nadu, India during the July 2013. Collecetd plant specimen was identified by Dr. S. John Britto, Director, The Rapinat Herbarium and Centre for Molecular Sytematics, St’ Joseph’s College, Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu, India and The Voucher specimen (IPH 4) was deposited in Entomology lab, Arignar Anna Government Arts College, Musiri, Tamil Nadu, India. Extraction method The dried leaves (100g) were powdered mechanically using commercial electrical stainless steel blender and extracted sequentially with hexane, chloroform, and ethyl acetate (500ml, Ranchem), in a soxhlet apparatus separately until exhaustion. The extract was concentrated under reduced pressure of 22-26mm hg at 45º C by ‘Rotavapour’ and the residue obtained was stored at 4ºC in an amber vial. Then the vials were named and covered with silver foil and transported to the laboratory. Until use those vials were kept in cool and dark place at 4ºC. Vector rearing The mosquito larvae of Ae. aegypti, An. Stephensi and Cx. quinquefasciatus were collected from National centre for disease control, Government of India ministry of health and family welfare, Southern India branch, field station, Mettupalayam. The larvae were kept in the plastic buckets half filled with tap water and fed with dog biscuit once a day initially and twice during the later stages of development. Water in rearing container was refreshed every day by removing a little quantity of water from the rearing buckets and replacing with fresh water. This was aimed at preventing scum from forming on the water surface.