~ 512 ~ Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2019; 7(6): 512-522 E-ISSN: 2320-7078 P-ISSN: 2349-6800 JEZS 2019; 7(6): 512-522 © 2019 JEZS Received: 21-09-2019 Accepted: 25-10-2019 Rabeya Khatun Entomology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh Kazi Shakhawath Hossain Plant Pathology Laboratory, Department of Botany, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh Sharmin Akter Entomology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh Roland Nathan Mandal (1). Center for Environmental and Geographic Services (CEGIS), A Public Trust under the Ministry of Water Resources, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2). Key Laboratory of Aquatic Genetic Resources and Utilization, College of Fisheries and Life Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China Biplab Kumar Mandal (1). Entomology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2). Key Laboratory of Aquatic Genetic Resources and Utilization, College of Fisheries and Life Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China Corresponding Author: Biplab Kumar Mandal (1). Entomology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh (2). Key Laboratory of Aquatic Genetic Resources and Utilization, College of Fisheries and Life Sciences, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai 201306, China Entomopathogenic fungus spores in the larval habitat water of Culex quinquefasciatus mosquito in Dhaka city, Bangladesh Rabeya Khatun, Kazi Shakhawath Hossain, Sharmin Akter, Roland Nathan Mandal and Biplab Kumar Mandal Abstract Density of entomopathogenic fungi spores in the larval habitat water of Culex quinquefasciatus was conducted at the Entomology laboratory and Plant Pathology laboratory, Jagannath University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. The larvae and pupae of different mosquito species were counted; water was preserved for fungal culture. Potato Dextrose Agar (PDA) medium was used for culture and different levels of dilution were performed for culture of fungus spores. These stagnant dirty drain water samples have been containing a few (10) Aedes larvae; coexisting with a huge Culex at the same breeding ground. A total of 4138 mosquito larvae and pupa were recorded in the collected habitat water where 3928 larvae and 200 pupa of Culex were observed with different larval densities among collection points. Out of eighteen (18) fungal isolates under 10 genera (Absidia sp., Aspergillus sp., Cladosporium sp., Curvularia sp., Fusarium sp., Geotrichum sp., Nigrospora sp., Penicillium sp., Rhizopus sp. and Sclerotium sp.) were identified, seven (7) of them have been reported as entomopathogenic by scientists; to date. Eight (8) isolates were belonging to the genus Aspergillus. Relationship of larval density of Culex were very weak to total spores of all fungi (r = -0.154) as well as with the number of individual isolates of fungus spores. Culture of entomopathogenic fungi in laboratory condition, and use of them as a biological control agent for the mosquitoes could not be recommended. Keywords: Mosquito, entomopathogenic fungus (EPF), isolates, habitat, management Introduction Mosquitoes (Order: Diptera and Family: Culicidae), one of the cosmopolitan [1] organism, is a familiar parasitic vectors of a number of transmissible and life menacing diseases such as malaria, filariasis, dengue fever, yellow fever and most of the arthropod borne viral types of encephalitis [2, 3] . They are generally adapted to stagnant water [4, 5] for breeding; some are more tolerant of cold [6, 7] ; and a very harmful insect for both human and animals. So, it is very important to know the habitat, breeding place, status and prevalence of mosquito fauna to control mosquito and mosquito borne diseases [8] . Out of a world total of more than 3000 species only about 113 species are recorded in Bangladesh [9] . Culex mosquitoes lay around 100 eggsin oval rafts and the rafts are loosely cemented together; the eggs normally hatch within 24-30 hours [10] . Adult females need a warm blood meal to lay eggs [11] ; a female mosquito can lay up to five rafts of eggs in a lifetime [12] . They need a steady temperature with a non-agitated water habitat to hatch and develop; otherwise they might die [13] . Culex quinquefasciatus usually likes to breed in the water surface mostly rich in compounds-either in water tanks or stagnant shallow waterbodies [14] . It has been noticed laying eggs in shallow ponds within streams phytotelmata [15] , and some artificial habitats such as drains sumps, wells, oxidation ponds at sewage treatment plants [16] , stock drinking troughs, septic tanks, rainwater containers, tires and various other small containers [17, 18] . They have been reported to share the same habitat with other mosquito and arthropod species [18] . The hatched larvae are able to overwinter in the cooler months [14, 18] . Adult mosquitoes like to breed and move around the warm blooded animal blood food sources, and normally cannot fly more than 1km for foraging [19] . High diversity of freshwater fungal spores are evident now-a-days, but huge studies are required to know the biodiversity of freshwater fungi; it is just estimated that there are approximately 1.5 million fungal species on earth [20] . Among them, around 3000 species are known as aquatic and only 465 species have been reported to occur in marine saline waters [21] .