## 1 Introduction  
Dengue viruses (DENVs) are among the most common arboviral diseases currently affecting humankind, causing between 100 and 400 million infections every year [1]. These diseases have great public health relevance, as they are highly incapatitating, not only leading to economic damages but also generating serious health episodes and in some cases even death [2, 3]. Despite interest and research, no specific antiviral treatments or vaccines exist. This means the main control strategy depends on _Aedes_ (Stegomyia) vector mosquito management [4]. On account of its arboviral nature, the spread of Dengueviruses is limited to vector distributions, hence why mosquito density and dispersion are paramount criterions for the prediction and control of Dengue outbreaks [5]. In Colombia, the transmission of DENVs relies mainly on the vector _Aedes aegypti_ ([PERSON], 1762), but it has been shown that _Aedes albopictus_ ([PERSON], 1894) plays an important role as a secondary vector. This comes as no surprise, as _Aedes_ mosquitoes have had a long coevolutionary history transmitting DENVs, which has made them into ideal vectors for these and other arboviral diseases [6]. However, this is not the only shared trait between these mosquito species, as they are practicably indistinguishable from one another during their larval stages, aside from minimal cuticle differences that do not manifest until the last larval instar [7]. The extent of these similarities is enough that there exists evidence of satyrization and even successful mating when their ranges overlap [8]. _Ae albopictus_ is widely known as an important Dengue vector in Southeast Asia and Oceania [9], known also as the Tiger Mosquito, _Ae. albopictus_ is native to Asia [10] but, in recent decades, it has been reported as an invasive species in different countries around the world [11; 12]. The first American reports of the species date from 1986, when it was discovered in both Texas, USA and Sao Paulo, Brazil [13; 14]. A little over a decade later, in 1998, the presence of _Ae. albopictus_ in Colombia was first reported in the southern city of Leticia, in the Amazon region [15]. Widespread invasions of _Ae. albopictus_ to different countries have been linked to the introduction of larvae and eggs carried accidentally through commerce, namely through imports like tires [11; 16] and other suitable nesting materials [17]. Likewise, the main distribution path of the vector within Colombia is thought to be a consequence of terrestrial trade and movement of goods [11; 15; 17]. Currently, this vector is extensively distributed throughout the national territory [18; 19] and is thought to be resistant to many of the broad-spectrum insecticides used in its and _Ae. aegypti_'s eradication [20]. Belonging to the Diptera order, these insects have a holometabolous development, meaning that their maturation process passes through the egg, larval instars, pupa, and adult stages [21]. It is well known that the larval stage of these insects is the easiest to control, does not present a danger of disease transmission and has shown greater susceptibility to various control methods [22]. Nevertheless, given the organisms' developmental speed, it is difficult to implement control projects within an adequate time frame. The most broadly used vector control strategy has been the use of different pesticides in large quantities [23; 24]. This method was successfully implemented during most of the 20 th century [25; 26]. Yet, this strategy has been questioned for different reasons, mainly, bioaccumulation of toxins in biomass [27; 28], decomposition into even more environmentally toxic compounds [29; 30], action on non-target organisms [31; 32], and the appearance of resistance in target organisms [20; 24; 33]. Therefore, both environmental organisations and the scientific community have condemned attempts to control vector mosquitoes through purely chemical means, as the detrimental health effects outweigh the relatively few benefits of the method.