Journal Article Dispersal of Culex Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) From a Wastewater Treatment Facility Get access Alexander T. Ciota, Alexander T. Ciota 1The Arbovirus Laboratories, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, 5668 State Farm Road Slingerlands, NY 12159.2Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY 12144. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Cori L. Drummond, Cori L. Drummond 1The Arbovirus Laboratories, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, 5668 State Farm Road Slingerlands, NY 12159. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Meghan A. Ruby, Meghan A. Ruby 1The Arbovirus Laboratories, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, 5668 State Farm Road Slingerlands, NY 12159. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Jason Drobnack, Jason Drobnack 1The Arbovirus Laboratories, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, 5668 State Farm Road Slingerlands, NY 12159. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Gregory D. Ebel, Gregory D. Ebel 3Health Sciences Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131-0001. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Laura D. Kramer Laura D. Kramer 5 1The Arbovirus Laboratories, Wadsworth Center, New York State Department of Health, 5668 State Farm Road Slingerlands, NY 12159.2Department of Biological Sciences, State University of New York at Albany, Albany, NY 12144.4Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Public Health, State University of New York at Albany, NY 12144. 5Corresponding author, e-mail: ldk02@health.state.ny.us. Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic PubMed Google Scholar Journal of Medical Entomology, Volume 49, Issue 1, 1 January 2012, Pages 35–42, https://doi.org/10.1603/ME11077 Published: 01 January 2012 Article history Received: 11 April 2011 Accepted: 13 September 2011 Published: 01 January 2012
Trapping success, abundance, parity rate, and body size indices of Culex pipiens (L.) and Culex restuans Theobald, important vectors of West Nile virus (family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus, WNV), were determined for specimens captured from both ground level (approximately 1-m) and elevated (approximately 6- to 7-m) CO2-baited CDC miniature light traps. Mosquitoes were collected from six study sites in Albany County, New York, from mid-May to mid-October 2004. There was no significant difference in abundance or mean parity for either Cx. pipiens or Cx. restuans between the elevated and the ground-level traps. Mosquitoes collected in elevated traps tended to be larger than mosquitoes collected at ground level. Elevated traps captured significantly fewer mosquitoes per trap-night than did ground traps, but a greater proportion of those captured were Culex spp. Therefore, elevated traps more efficiently captured Cx. pipiens and Cx. restuans with similar reproductive status and body size and reduced the time necessary to sort and identify collections. These findings may be beneficial to researchers or surveillance programs focusing on Cx. pipiens or Cx. restuans.
Overwintering populations of Culex pipiens, the principal enzootic vector of West Nile virus in the northeastern USA, were studied over 3 consecutive winters from 2006 to 2008, using mark-recapture techniques to determine when Cx. pipiens females began to disperse from overwintering hibernacula and how their survival influenced early season populations. In February of each year, Cx. pipiens were aspirated and marked using fluorescent powder; 4,067, 752, and 3,070 diapausing Cx. pipiens were marked in each successive year. Mosquitoes were then trapped from mid-April to early May of each year using 19 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) light traps and 16 CDC gravid traps. A total of 348, 39, and 111 Culex mosquitoes were captured in the spring of 2006, 2007, and 2008, respectively. The number of mosquitoes marked in overwintering habitats is generally positively correlated with the number of mosquitoes recaptured in the early spring (linear regression, R2 = 0.79, P = 0.04), yet results also suggest that seasonal variations beyond overwintering population size are likely important in determining the success of emergent populations. A single marked Cx. pipiens was captured in both 2006 and 2008. In 2006, the mosquito was captured 0.5 km from its overwintering site while in 2008 the mosquito was captured 0.3 km from its overwintering site. In all study years, mosquitoes consistently began exiting overwintering hibernacula the 3rd week of April, yet evidence of earlier exodus was observed in 2007, when outside temperatures were significantly higher in preceding days and months.
Abstract Trapping success, abundance, parity rate, and body size indices of Culex pipiens (L.) and Culex restuans Theobald, important vectors of West Nile virus (family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus, WNV), were determined for specimens captured from both ground level (≈1-m) and elevated (≈6- to 7-m) CO2-baited CDC miniature light traps. Mosquitoes were collected from six study sites in Albany County, New York, from mid-May to mid-October 2004. There was no significant difference in abundance or mean parity for either Cx. pipiens or Cx. restuans between the elevated and the ground-level traps. Mosquitoes collected in elevated traps tended to be larger than mosquitoes collected at ground level. Elevated traps captured significantly fewer mosquitoes per trap-night than did ground traps, but a greater proportion of those captured were Culex spp. Therefore, elevated traps more efficiently captured Cx. pipiens and Cx. restuans with similar reproductive status and body size and reduced the time necessary to sort and identify collections. These findings may be beneficial to researchers or surveillance programs focusing on Cx. pipiens or Cx. restuans.
