The Yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti), a common vector for the pathogens that cause diseases such as yellow fever, dengue, and Zika, has become highly adapted to living alongside humans, especially in the climate of south Florida. With the continued use of insecticides around the world, field populations of Ae. aegypti have become less susceptible to vector control measures through biochemical, physiological, and behavioral adaptations. Multiple organisms have been shown to possess circadian regulation of toxic agent susceptibility, and since other crucial life processes that are circadian influenced have been linked to resistance of insecticides, mosquitoes that are more resistant may show a difference in these linked behaviors. Locomotory activity is one such behavior. Field-collected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes kept under LD 14:10 at 27 °C were collected and cross-analyzed with Geographic Information System (GIS) maps of insecticide spraying activity and other environmental determinants of vector abundance in Miami-Dade County. Evidence of night-time activity was observed in field groups of Ae. aegypti, which is a diurnal species. Locomotion activity counts of most wild groups were also significantly different than the laboratory strain and did not show a peak at “dawn” in the laboratory. Knowing when field populations are most active could be applied in control programs on the basis of chronotoxicology.
