The Siren's Song: Exploitation of Female Flight Tones to Passively Capture Male Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae).
The need to capture male mosquitoes has intensified recently as a result of a number of male-based sterile insect technique (SIT) and population-modification programs focused on Aedes aegypti (L.) having initiated field releases. Here, we report the results of the successful exploitation of the attraction of male Ae. aegypti to female flight tones to enhance male collections in nonmechanical passive (nonbattery powered) Gravid Aedes Traps (GAT). Prior to field studies, male attraction to female flight tones of 484 and 560 Hz, as well as to a male flight tone of 715 Hz, were assessed in a series of controlled release-recapture and semifield trials. These trials determined that a pure tone of 484 Hz was significantly more attractive to free-flying males than the other flight tones and enabled their collection in sound-baited GATs (ca. 95% capture rate after 2 h; 484 Hz at 65 dB). In contrast, gravid females were unresponsive to male or female flight tones and were evenly distributed among sound-baited and control GATs. Importantly, under normal field conditions sound-baited GATs (484 Hz at 70 dB) captured significantly more male Ae. aegypti per 24-h trap interval (1.3 ± 0.37) than controls (0.2 ± 0.13). Overall, sound-bated GATs captured approximately twice as many Ae. aegypti (male and female; 3.0 ± 0.68 per interval, 30 total) than controls (1.5 ± 0.56 per interval, 15 total). These results reveal that sound-baited GATs are a simple and effective surveillance tool for Ae. aegypti that would allow current male-based SIT and population-modification programs to effectively monitor males in their target populations.
College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, McGregor Rd., Cairns, QLD 4878, Australia (brian.johnson@jcu.edu.au; scott.ritchie@jcu.edu.au) Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, PO Box 6811, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia brian.johnson@jcu.edu.au.
Brian J
BJ
Johnson
College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, McGregor Rd., Cairns, QLD 4878, Australia (brian.johnson@jcu.edu.au; scott.ritchie@jcu.edu.au) Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine, James Cook University, PO Box 6811, Cairns, QLD 4870, Australia.
Scott A
SA
Ritchie
D000330:Aedes; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D005426:Flight, Animal; D008297:Male; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000295:instrumentation*; D013016:Sound
Aedes aegypti; Gravid Aedes Trap; sound bait; surveillance; wing frequency