Screening of some semi-arid region plants for larvicidal activity against Aedes aegypti mosquitoes.

Mosquitoes pose a major threat to human health by transmitting serious diseases. Development of resistance, cross-resistance, rising cost and possible toxicity hazards associated with synthetic insecticides are some of the reasons for revival of interest in plantbased products in recent years1–4. Search for cost-effective, safe and highly potent plant-based insecticides for the control of mosquitoes requires the preliminary screening of plants to evaluate their effectiveness in mosquito control and selecting the plants with high potency for further study. In the present study, we have screened 11 plant species of local flora against the IV instar larvae of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae). These selected plants are Millingtonia hortensis, Annona squamosa, Bauhinia varigata, Plumeria alba, Psidium guajava, Syzygium cumini, Alstonia scholaris, Michelea champaca, Holoptelia integrifolia, Quisqualis indica and Nerium indicum. Taxonomic identification was performed by botanists from the Department of Botany, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur, India where voucher specimens were deposited.