Abstract
An individual marking method by placing spots of paint at five different sites on the thorax of mosquitoes was applied and a short-term ecological study on movement of Ae. albopictus and Armigeres subalbatus was conducted during 18 to 27 March 2013 in a residential area on Ishigaki island, Japan. There were 2 preservation areas with vegetation, human dwellings, shops and buildings, and habitats of Ae. albopictus were distributed patchily in the study area of 230 m×250 m. Individual marking was carried out during the first 7 days, and 232 and 216 females of Ae. albopictus and Ar. subalbatus, respectively, were marked and released from 4 collection sites. The overall recapture rate of released females was significantly higher for Ae. albopictus (0.21=48/232) than Ar. subalbatus (0.09=20/216). The recapture rate of Ae. albopictus varied among collection sites. Analysis of the movements of released mosquitoes among collection sites indicated that the collection site inside the large preservation area was suitable for resting/searching Ae. albopictus and Ar. subalbatus and many females were accumulated through directional movements from the surrounding habitats. The individual marking method used in this study is applicable to field studies of the movements of Ae. albopictus and Ar. subalbatus.
