Development time of Culex mosquitoes in stormwater management structures in California

A widely recommended strategy to minimize mosquito production in structural stormwater Best Management Practices (BMPs) is to ensure they hold captured water for no more than 72 h. However, this standard may be overly conservative for many mosquito species found in urban environments and may impede or prevent the capacity of BMPs to fulfill more stringent water quality standards in environmentally sensitive areas. Egg-to-pupa development of Culex tarsalis, Cx. pipiens, and Cx. quinquefasciatus were examined during July, August, and September 2006 in stormwater management basins and in water collected from these basins in 3 climatically distinct regions of California: the Lake Tahoe Basin, Sacramento Valley, and Los Angeles Basin. The observed minimum times to pupal development were 6 days for Cx. tarsalis and Cx. quinquefasciatus and 8 days for Cx. pipiens. Multiple linear regression models were used to estimate minimum predicted development times under optimal conditions for each region. The results suggest that water residence times of up to 96 h will not significantly increase the potential for Culex mosquito production in stormwater BMPs in the 3 regions included in this study.