MOSQUITO HOST-RANGE AND SPECIFICITY OF EDHAZARDIA-AEDIS (MICROSPORA, CULICOSPORIDAE)

Edhazardia aedis was transmitted horizontally to its natural host, Aed es aegypti, and to 6 alternate hosts: Ae. albopictus, Ae. triseriatus, Ae. taeniorhynchus, Anopheles quadrimaculatus, Orthopodomyia signifer a and Toxorhynchites rutilus rutilus. The microsporidium produced both binucleate and uninucleate spores in all susceptible hosts. Transovar ial transmission, however, was only successful in Ae. aegypti. Therefo re, while E. aedis can infect a variety of mosquito species from diver se genera, it is specific for its natural host, Ae. aeqypti. Five othe r mosquito species were not susceptible to E. aedis.