Comparison between pupal and adult X-ray radiation, designed for the sterile insect technique for Aedes albopictus control.

Aedes albopictus is a vector of several human viral diseases, including dengue, chikungunya, and Zika. New control method for Aedes albopictus is needed to replace traditional methods such as chemical insecticides which induce resistance, environmental contamination and toxicity to human. In sterile insect technique (SIT), male mosquitoes are sterilized by γ-ray or X-ray irradiation before released. In this study, the relative effectiveness of X-ray irradiation as a mosquito SIT was investigated. Both pupal and adult Aedes albopictus were subjected to different radiation doses and their emergence, survivorship, longevity, induced sterility, and male mating competitiveness were evaluated. Relative to controls, irradiation had no significant effect on emergence and survivorship but significantly reduce adult longevity. Induced sterility were essentially same for both irradiated pupal and adult. At a dose of 40 Gy, 97% and 100% sterility was respectively achieved for males and females. Mating competitiveness was reduced both in adult males and those derived from pupae exposed to 40 Gy. However, populations can be suppressed by increasing the release ratio (sterile: normal). When the release ratio was 7:1, 74% of the wild population could be suppressed. Overall, the results of the present study showed that SIT based on X-Ray irradiation is scientific and feasible to control Aedes albopictus.