EVALUATION OF CDC LIGHT TRAP, BG SENTINEL TRAP, AND MMX TRAP FOR THE COLLECTION OF SALT MARSH MOSQUITOES IN ANASTASIA STATE PARK, SAINT AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA

Salt marsh mosquitoes are major nuisance pests during the periods of high mosquito activity, especially after major storm events. In 2016-2017, Saint John’s County, Florida, USA was struck by two major hurricanes that resulted in multiple outbreaks of salt marsh mosquito populations. To optimize the surveillance of two salt marsh mosquitoes, (Aedes taeniorhynchus and Ae. sollicitans, three types of traps (the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Light trap, Biogents Sentinel (BG) trap and Counter Flow Geometry Model (MMX) trap were tested for their capacity to capture the highest numbers of high quality live specimens for laboratory bioassays. Each trap type was tested in Anastasia State Park, located along a major salt marsh area in Saint John’s County. Although the MMX trap captured most of the salt marsh mosquitoes collected, the numbers of mosquitoes captured was not statistically significant compared to the other trap types. However, there was a significant difference in the numbers between Ae. taeniorhynchus and Ae. sollicitans in the MMX traps. The MMX trap is preferred for capturing salt marsh mosquitoes that are in high quality for the CDC bottle bioassays.