Coelomomyces indicus infection on Anopheles subpictus larvae was found in 5 out of 5887 larvae collected from 4 localities in Calcutta.
Article Detection of Coelomomyces indicus, a parasitic fungus in Ano...
There is quite a literature on the use of parasitic fungi in the control of various insect pest; work has been done on red locust control, applying the fungal spores by aircraft; there have bee several publication on the use of entomphagous fungi on mosquito control, the spores are applied to affect adults not larvae. The use of calabashes as resting sites where emerging mosquitoes might rest after emergence is an approach. However I am not aware of any literature describing a concerted approach to target mosquito populations. Consult the literature for details.
As per as Indian context, controlling mosquito larvae through fungal infection is not adequately possible. The vast sewage and garbage surroundings the urban area quite fungal friendly atmosphere along high pH. The possible strategy may be attack with fungai through gut of these larvae and measuring pH at which it would work its optimum. Lot of effort has been made by our Dept. to controlling them but all are not enough.
Please apologize for this question but is Coelomomyces specific to Anopheles larvae?
Dear Professor
Your question is really a logical based one. I found only few references with regards to the matter. In our lab, we are also trying to identify the exact mechanism of fungal actions over the vector mosquitoes in general.
you can see:
Article Entomopathogenic fungi for mosquito control: A review
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