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Title: Attractive toxic sugar baits: Control of mosquitoes with the low risk active ingredient dinotefuran and potential impacts on non-target organisms in Morocco

Author
item KHALLAAYOUNE, KHALID - Hassan Ii Agricultural And Veterinary Institute
item QUALLS, WHITNEY - University Of Miami
item REVAY, EDITA - University Of Haifa
item Allan, Sandra - Sandy
item ARHEART, KRISTOPHER - Tel Aviv University
item KRAVCHENDO, VASILIY - Anastasia Mosquito Control District
item XUE, RUI-DE - Hebrew University
item SCHLEIN, YOSEF - Hebrew University
item BEIER, JOHN - University Of Miami
item MULLER, GUNTER - Hebrew University

Submitted to: Journal of Environmental Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/1/2013
Publication Date: 10/1/2013
Citation: Khallaayoune, K., Qualls, W.A., Revay, E.E., Allan, S.A., Arheart, K.L., Kravchendo, V.D., Xue, R., Schlein, Y., Beier, J.C., Muller, G. 2013. Attractive toxic sugar baits: Control of mosquitoes with the low risk active ingredient dinotefuran and potential impacts on non-target organisms in Morocco. Journal of Environmental Entomology. 42(5):1040-1045.

Interpretive Summary: Mosquitoes are important as both nuisances and vectors of diseases such as Rift valley fever, West Nile virus, malaria and dengue that severely impact livestock and people around the world. Effective control of mosquitoes can be limited by cost, available equipment and infrastructure, appropriate delivery method of pesticide and pesticide resistance. In this study, scientists at the USDA Agriculture Research Service, Center for Medical, Veterinary and Agricultural Entomology in Gainesville, Florida, investigated in Morocco a novel low technology strategy for control that focuses on sugar feeding by mosquitoes on sugar baits that incorporate an insecticide was evaluated in Morocco. Effective mosquito control was obtained with minimal negative impact by non-target insects. This control strategy offers promise for effective mosquito control in locations where traditional mosquito control strategies are hard to implement.

Technical Abstract: We evaluated the efficacy of ATSB in the laboratory and the field with the low risk active ingredient dinotefuran against mosquito populations. Assays indicated that dinotefuran in solution with the sugar baits was ingested and resulted in high mortality of female Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes aegypti. Field studies demonstrated significant control, greater than 70% reduction, of mosquito populations at three weeks post ATSB application. Furthermore, non-target feeding of seven insect orders, Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Orthoptera, and Neuroptera, was evaluated in the field after application of attractive sugar baits (ASB) on vegetation by dissecting the guts and searching for food dye with a dissecting microscope. The potential impact of attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSB) on non-targets, applied on green non-flowering vegetation was low for all non-target groups (0.9%). The only two families that were significantly impacted by the ASB application were Culicidae (mosquitoes) and Chironomidae (non-biting midges) of the order Diptera. Pollinators of the other insect orders were not significantly impacted. No mortality was observed laboratory studies with predatory non-targets, wolf spiders or ground beetles, after feeding for three days on mosquitoes engorged on ATSB applied to vegetation. Overall, this novel control strategy has low environmental impact on non-targets including pollinators and beneficial insects, and is effective at controlling mosquito populations, further supporting the development of ATSB for commercial use.