Under short autumn days, Aedes albopictus should make hardy eggs. What can artificial night light do?

Answer: Reduced egg diapause

Faster egg freezing — No. Artificial night light is a light cue, not a freezer. Cold and dryness are exactly the seasonal stresses diapause eggs are built to tolerate better. The surprising result is the opposite of freezing: some light-exposed eggs hatch more readily or fail to enter the hardy state. Temperature still matters, but the artificial night signal changes the developmental decision before winter actually arrives.

Reduced egg diapause ✓ — Correct. Aedes albopictus often rides out bad seasons as diapause eggs, not as adult females like Culex pipiens. Experiments found that artificial light at night lowered diapause incidence and increased hatching in short-photoperiod conditions. That means a city light can push some eggs toward a 'keep developing' program when the season says 'pause.' The useful distinction is life stage: the same cue, light, can hit eggs in one mosquito and adult behavior in another.

Total hatch blocking — Not quite. If ALAN simply blocked all hatching, it would be an easy pest-control story. The reported pattern is more complicated: diapause can be reduced and hatching can increase, which may desynchronize the life cycle. That can be bad for mosquito survival in harsh winter, yet it may also help urban persistence where winters are mild. The mechanism is timing confusion, not universal shutdown.