The impact of electromagnetic radio waves on some biological aspects of Culex (Culex) pipiens Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae)

Experiments were conducted to investigate the impact of Radio-Frequency (RF) exposure on some biological aspects of immature stages of Culex (Culex) pipiens mosquito. Immature stages of Cx. (Cx.) pipiensmosquito were collected from Giza, Egypt and maintained at the Dept. of Entomology, Fac. of Science, Cairo University. 100 first in star larvae were exposed to a single dose of discontinuous RF using GSM multiband mobile phone for 4 hours simulating phone conversation conditions. Immature duration, percentage mortality, adult emergence, and sex ratio were calculated and statistically analyzed. RF-exposed insects exhibited significant reduction in developmental duration (19 and 10.55 days for control and RE-exposed, respectively), significant increase in percentage mortality (23.8, 11.2% and 38.6, 48.8% for control and RE-exposed larval and pupal mortality, respectively) and mail-biased sex ratio (1 female: 1.34 male and 1 female: 3.46 male for control and RE-exposed, respectively). These results provided an evidence for the negative impact of RF-radiation on the components of ecosystem. Additional research on the molecular effects of RF-exposure on living organisms is encourage