A light and electron microscope study of rickettsia-like organisms in the ovaries of mosquitoes of the Aedes scutellaris group.

The ovaries from some members of the Aedes scutellaris group were examined by light and electron microscopy to locate rickettsia-like organisms, and Culex pipiens fatigans was used as a control. It was found that light microscopy was unsatisfactory for this purpose since none of the available staining techniques demonstrates the organisms clearly and diagnostically. With the electron microscope it was shown that the organisms were by no means as common in the mosquitoes of the A. scutellaris group as in C.p. fatigans; they were quite frequently seen in A. polynesiensis, of sporadic occurrence in A. malayensis, rare in A. tabu and have not yet been identified with certainty in A. cooki.