Evaluation of various substances and trap component configurations to increase mosquito collections in Biogents Gravid Aedes traps.

Two independent studies were conducted in northeastern Florida to determine if Biogents Gravid Aedes Trap (GAT) mosquito collections could be enhanced with a variety of substances and structural configurations. The first study baited GATs with either: 1) an infusion of mixed Southern live oak leaf (Quercus virginiana) and slash pine needle (Pinus elliottii) litter, 2) Biogents Lure (BG Lure), 3) yeast-derived carbon dioxide), 4) yeast-derived carbon dioxide+ BG Lure, or 5) a combination of all three. Nine mosquito species were collected from traps in the first study with Psorophora ferox>Culex nigripalpus>Aedes aegypti>Cx. quinquefasciatus as the top four most abundantly collected species. No significant difference in mosquito abundance was observed among these species among treatments. However, when the overall number of mosquitoes for all nine species was pooled, GATs baited with the combination of yeast-derived carbon dioxide + BG Lure + leaf infusion numerically collected the greatest number of individuals compared with the other four treatments. The second study evaluated the separate and combined attractiveness of individual GAT structural components/configurations with and without Southern live oak leaf litter infusion and BG-Lure. Aedes albopictus, Ae. aegypti, Anopheles quadrimaculatus, and Cx. quinquefasciatus were collected from all these traps in the second study. Results generally revealed that the current commercially available GAT configuration consisting of a screened translucent top (with BG-Lure) fitted into the black reservoir baited with oak leaf infusion remained the most attractive combination for collecting northeastern Florida mosquitoes.