153 - History of Larvicide Resistance Research and the Path Forward

Insecticide resistance has long challenged mosquito control programs, threatening the effectiveness of public health interventions. Larvicide resistance research and operational monitoring have become growing areas of interest, complementing historical and ongoing work focused on adulticide resistance. This presentation will provide an overview of the history of larvicide resistance studies, including commonly used assays, key milestones, and insights gained from this body of research.
Standardized methods for monitoring adulticide resistance—such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Bottle Bioassay—have enabled consistent data collection and broad adoption across the United States. However, comparable tools for larvicide resistance monitoring are not yet widely available to the mosquito control community. The CDC Bottle Bioassay protocol and accompanying kit program demonstrated the power of standardized, accessible methods—supported by extensive training—to unite the field under a common assay and enhance resistance monitoring nationwide.
The path forward may lie in developing a similar approach for larvicides: a standardized, user-friendly protocol and supporting kit that allow programs to assess susceptibility in local mosquito populations and share comparable data. Establishing such a system will foster collaboration, improve understanding of larvicide resistance patterns, and strengthen integrated mosquito management strategies.