Observations on possible competitive displacement between populations of Aedes aegypti Linnaeus and Aedes albopictus Skuse in Calcutta.

The possibility of competitive displacement in Calcutta between Aedes aegypti, a known vector of arboviruses, and A. albopictus, a suspected vector, was explored by general collections of immature stages from all types of breeding-places and by exposing oviposition traps in tenement houses, and gardens in urban, suburban, and rural environments. A. aegypti was predominant in houses and tenements in urban areas, but A. albopictus was not excluded. Both species occurred in about equal densities in small urban gardens. In suburban and rural areas, A. albopictus was predominant, or the only one of the two species present. It readily entered houses for the purpose of oviposition, especially in the absence of A. aegypti.It is suggested that the two species are exhibiting the effect of competitive displacement, with A. aegypti being favoured in urban premises and A. albopictus in the outdoor environment of suburban and rural areas, while in small urban gardens there is a state of equilibrium in which the densities of the two populations are about equal. The possibility cannot be excluded that eradication of A. aegypti in the city might lead to an increase in the A. albopictus population in houses and tenement dwellings.