ARS | Publication request: Efficacy of three attractant blends tested in combination with carbon dioxide against natural populations of mosquitoes and biting flies at the lower suwannee wildlife refuge

Submitted to: Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: March 28, 2012
Publication Date: June 1, 2012
Citation: Kline, D.L., Bernier, U.R., Hogsette, Jr, J.A. 2012. Efficacy of three attractant blends tested in combination with carbon dioxide against natural populations of mosquitoes and biting flies at the lower suwannee wildlife refuge. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 28(2):123-127.

Interpretive Summary: Veterinary and public health in the United States is continuously threatened by indigenous and invasive insect species. These species can carry pathogens, which can cause diseases such as West Nile Virus, Chikungunya, Eastern Equine Encephalitis and Rift Valley Fever. Surveillance methods need to be improved for early detection of these important insect species. Developing improved surveillance technologies is an area of research emphasis for several scientists in the Mosquito and Fly Research Unit, Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, located in Gainesville, FL. This research supports this area of emphasis by evaluating blends of chemicals that might be more efficient in attracting these target insect species to traps than currently used attractants. If so, this might result in earlier detection of potential disease pathogen carrying populations. Early detection can lead to more efficient management of these target species and a reduction in their ability to cause a disease outbreak.

Technical Abstract: Synthetic blends composed of chemicals identified previously as emanations from human skin were evaluated against natural populations of mosquitoes and biting flies at the Lower Suwannee Wildlife Refuge located near Cedar Key, FL. Mosquito Magnet™-Experimental (MM-X) traps were baited with one of three blends, designated as Red (400 ml acetone: 10 ml 1-hexen-3-ol: 10 ml 1-octen-3-ol), Blue ( 400 ml acetone: 1 g/L lactic acid: 20 ml glycolic acid), or Green (400 ml acetone: 1.5 g/L lactic acid: 20 ml dimethyl disulfide) in combination with carbon dioxide (CO2) or CO2 alone. The CO2 only-baited trap served as a basis to compare the effectiveness of the blends. A relative index of efficacy was determined by dividing each blend treatment trap collection counts by the trap collection count obtained from the trap baited with CO2 alone. Five species of mosquitoes (Aedes infirmatus, Ae. taeniorhynchus, Ae. triseriatus, Anopheles crucians, and Culex nigripalpus), two species of ceratopogonids (Culicoides floridensis and C. furens), and one species each of tabanid (Diachlorus ferrugatus) and phlebotomine (Lutzomyia shannoni) were trapped. The Red blend + CO2 treatment significantly increased collections of Ae. taeniorhynchus (3.4X), An. crucians (2.8X), total mosquitoes (2.7X), C. furens (17.6X), and L. shannoni (10.8X) compared to traps baited with CO2 alone. In general, traps baited with either the Blue or Green blends resulted in greatly reduced trap catches. An exception was that traps baited with the Green blend caught 7X as many C. furens as traps baited with CO2 only. Further research is needed to determine the cause for reduction in trap collections by the Blue and Green blends. Responses clearly varied according to species, therefore “one-size does not fit all” when it comes to attractant blends.