Radio-frequency electromagnetic exposure of Aedes aegypti mosquito in early life stages

Radio-frequency electromagnetic fields originating form our telecommunication systems expose everything in our surroundings, including insects. The effects of electromagnetic fields on insects are not well known, while many insect are often a crucial part of our ecosystems. Some insects are vectors for pathogens, like the Aedes aegypti mosquito, spreading Dengue, Yellow fever and Zika. In this study, we use this mosquitos, as a model organism to investigate the effect of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields on the development of insects. Early life stages of Ae. aegypti were exposed during experiments and wing length and development time were analyzed. Before the exposure experiments were executed, numerical simulations revealed the dose received by the insect during the experiments, taking into account the exposure setup and fact that both the larvae and pupae are aquatic. Also the position of the insect and frequency dependency were investigated. The exposure setups, a transverse electromagnetic cell and a reverberation chamber were investigated and characterized, at 1 GHz and 3.6 GHz respectively, with a focus on the reverberation chamber built for this study. The experimental results showed that during the larval stage, were the insect eats and grows in size (through four instars), an effect was found on the development time, which is dose depended, after exposure of 5 days to 46 and 183 V/m. At high fields where dielectric heating plays up, also the wing length is affected. After electromagnetic exposure of 24 hours at 43 and 92 V/m, the development of the pupae slowed down compared to its sham exposure. This was comparable to the effect of larval exposure at lower fields.