Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association

Gravid traps have become a common and frequently essential surveillance tool for parous Culex spp. vectors of West Nile virus and other encephalitis-causing pathogens. The recent closing of BioQuip Products Inc., an entomological supply company, has jeopardized the commercial availability of gravid traps. The Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District presents herein a template for making your own gravid trap, but with some modernizations for quieter fans and longer lasting, light weight, lithium battery packs...

Dengue virus (DENV) is an ever-increasing threat to the residents of South Florida. Seventy-two cases of locally acquired dengue were contracted by residents and visitors of Key Largo, FL, in 2020. The primary vector, Aedes aegypti, has been a large focus of the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District's (FKMCD) control measures for over a decade. This paper recounts the 2020 outbreak of DENV in Key Largo, FL, and the FKMCD's Ae. aegypti operational response. The overall House Index (13.43%) during the outbreak was considered high (>5%) risk for local transmission...

Aedes scapularis has recently been detected for the first time in southwestern Florida. During the course of research and surveillance activities by local mosquito control districts in 2020 and 2021, a total of 190 adult females were collected from 14 separate locations in Collier and Lee Counties. To date, Ae. scapularis has been found in 5 counties since its rediscovery in Florida in 2006. Its detection and likely northward expansion into Collier and Lee Counties from the southern Florida Peninsula is in line with ecological niche model predictions that found the environment of the Gulf Coast of southwestern Florida to be highly suitable for the species...

Information of species presence and abundance is useful for taking a targeted approach to controlling populations of medically important and nuisance mosquito species. In April 2023, staff at St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Abatement District (STPMAD), in Slidell, Louisiana, identified Aedes japonicus (Theobald, 1901) mosquitoes from a larval sample brought in from the field for identification. Although invasive Aedes species like Aedes albopictus are commonly found in Louisiana, this is the first record of Ae...

Achieving an appropriate droplet size distribution for adulticiding has proved problematic for unmanned aerial spray systems (UASSs). The high-pressure pumping systems utilized on crewed aircraft conflict with the weight constraints of UASSs. The alternative is a lightweight rotary atomizer, which when run at a maximum rpm with a minimal flow rate can achieve the appropriate droplet size distribution. For this study a UASS was calibrated to discharge an appropriate droplet size distribution (Dv0.5 of 48 µm and Dv0...

Information of species presence and abundance is useful for taking a targeted approach to controlling populations of medically important and nuisance mosquito species. In April 2023, staff at St. Tammany Parish Mosquito Abatement District (STPMAD), in Slidell, Louisiana, identified Aedes japonicus (Theobald, 1901) mosquitoes from a larval sample brought in from the field for identification. Although invasive Aedes species like Aedes albopictus are commonly found in Louisiana, this is the first record of Ae...

Mosquitoes are a known public nuisance and can vector various diseases. Historically, New Orleans, LA, has long been acquainted with the burden of mosquito-borne diseases, such as malaria and yellow fever in the 20th century and West Nile virus in the 21st century. Government mosquito control awareness campaigns have been around for decades as has the use of organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides by mosquito abatement districts. However, few data are available on public perception of mosquito control and public usage of insecticides to kill mosquitoes in New Orleans...

The Salt Lake City Mosquito Abatement District (SLCMAD) has been conducting aerial applications using an organophosphate insecticide against adult mosquitoes for several decades. In order to evaluate a potential rotation product, aerial applications of Duet HD™, a pyrethroid, were conducted under operational conditions against wild populations of Aedes dorsalis and Culex tarsalis and against colony strains of Cx. pipiens and Cx. quinquefasciatus. The erratic wind patterns of the greater Salt Lake area did not prevent sufficient droplet deposition flux at 9 monitoring locations spread across a 5,120-acre (2,072 ha) spray block within rural habitats...

The black salt marsh mosquito, Aedes taeniorhynchus, is the primary nuisance mosquito in the coastal regions of Florida. This study aimed to establish the baseline susceptibility of Ae. taeniorhynchus to adulticide products used for mosquito control by the Collier Mosquito Control District (CMCD). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention bottle bioassay was used to test technical-grade and formulated products, and Merus 3.0® was evaluated in semifield cage trials through aerial applications. The results revealed the baseline susceptibility of Ae...

Mosquito control plays a crucial role in the mitigation of mosquito-borne diseases. Larviciding that targets one of the aquatic stages is among the routine practices in mosquito control operations. One of the most extensive and challenging mosquito production sources in urban environments is underground storm drain systems. Along with the research and development of biorational larvicides in recent decades, numerous products based on microbial and insect growth regulators have become available. However, the performance of these products often varies because of product design and challenges associated with urban storm drain systems...

The present study establishes insecticide susceptibility profiles of Aedes albopictus adult populations from 4 hot springs in Selangor, Malaysia, against 7 pyrethroids through an adult mosquito susceptibility bioassay. All Ae. albopictus populations were subjected to a 1-h exposure to each pyrethroid following the World Health Organization. The mortalities were recorded at 60 min of exposure to bifenthrin, 30 min for other pyrethroids, and 24 h posttreatment for all pyrethroids. Complete mortalities were observed upon exposures to the pyrethroids under 60 min and at 24 h posttreatment, excluding permethrin 0...

The Anastasia Mosquito Control District, which manages mosquitoes in St. Johns County in northeastern Florida, has observed that the maximum numbers of the salt marsh mosquitoes, Aedes taeniorhynchus and Ae. sollicitan appeared to shift or change relative to each other, as evidenced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) light trap data in the past 17 years. The aim of this study was to analyze environmental data to identify and explore these changes. Data from CDC light traps, temperature, rainfall, and tidal levels were analyzed using ANOVA...

Culicoides species adults were collected in light traps located on the coast of Elota, Sinaloa, Mexico, in February 2022. All specimens were females, and it was determined based on their morphology that they belonged to the Culicoides variipennis complex. The identification of the species was carried out by means of a comparative analysis of genetic sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, which resulted in C. occidentalis, this being its first report in Sinaloa and its third nationwide.

Insects' daily rhythms occur in response to their surrounding environment. Recognizing the daily rhythms of pathogen vectors can be helpful in developing effective, safe, and sustainable management strategies to control vector insects and reduce the spread of pathogens. However, studying the daily rhythm of insects often requires costly or labor-intensive trapping, and few tools are available to quantify daily rhythms in the field. We developed a simple collection system to study the flight activity of mosquitoes and biting midges using a contained, programmable, rotating, automatic pet feeder...

Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus are disease vectors distributed throughout much of the world and are responsible for a high burden of vector-borne disease, which has increased during the last 2 decades. Most pathogens vectored by these mosquitoes do not have therapeutic remedies; thus, combating these diseases is dependent upon vector control. Improvements in vector control strategies are urgently needed, but these hinge on understanding the biology and ecology of Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus...

Understanding the distribution of mosquito species is an important element of surveillance. This is especially true in Florida, where detections of nonnative mosquitoes have been increasing. Collier Mosquito Control District performs routine adult mosquito surveillance for operational purposes throughout the year. Here, we report records for 3 species collected in 2021 that had not been documented previously in Collier County, FL: Aedes tortilis, Culex declarator, and Cx. tarsalis. Specimens were initially identified based on morphology, then each species was confirmed by comparing the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene sequences to those of other related mosquito species...

Mosquito-borne pathogens are a threat to US troops stationed in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Insecticide resistance has been reported in mosquito vectors in the ROK, highlighting the need for a sustained ROK-wide resistance surveillance program. To address this need from April 2022 until October 2022, larvae and pupae of Aedes albopictus, Ae. koreicus, and Culex pipiens were collected from US Army Garrison (USAG) Daegu (Camps Carroll and Henry), USAG Yongsan-Casey (Camp Casey), and USAG Humphreys (Camp Humphreys) and screened for resistance to insecticides using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) bottle bioassay...

Within the contiguous USA, Florida is unique in having tropical and subtropical climates, a great abundance and diversity of mosquito vectors, and high rates of human travel. These factors contribute to the state being the national ground zero for exotic mosquito-borne diseases, as evidenced by local transmission of viruses spread by Aedes aegypti, including outbreaks of dengue in 2022 and Zika in 2016. Because of limited treatment options, integrated vector management is a key part of mitigating these arboviruses...

Thirty-seven species and subspecies of mosquitoes were identified from 3,580,610 specimens collected in eastern (Cass, Nelson, and Richland counties) and western (Williams County) North Dakota in 2003-2006. Four species were new state records (Aedes schizopinax, Psorophora ciliata, Ps. ferox, and Ps. horrida). Aedes vexans was dominant (82.9%). Other relatively abundant species were Ae. trivittatus (7.7%), Ae. melanimon (2.7%), Culex tarsalis (2.6%), Ae. dorsalis (1.6%), Ae. sticticus (1.0), and Culiseta inornata (0...

Neuroinvasive La Crosse virus disease remains the primary cause of pediatric arboviral encephalitis in the USA. In spite of the persistent public health burden, there are limited entomologic surveillance options that target both native and invasive La Crosse virus (LACV) vectors. In this study we used Reiter/Cummings tacklebox gravid traps to compare white oak (Quercus alba) and hay (predominately Festuca arundinacea) infusions within a LACV-endemic area of western North Carolina. Paired gravid traps (approximately 1,728 total trap-hours for each infusion) yielded 485 mosquitoes, with 3 species (Aedes japonicus [n = 265], Ae...