Orientation behaviors were examined for Culex tarsalis and Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae) engaged in upwind flight toward a mosquito trap in a large field wind tunnel. Two trap designs were tested: the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) style trap and a commercially available trap that uses counter-flow technology. Both traps emit carbon dioxide plumes, the structures of which were examined using a surrogate gas and a mini-photoionization detector and a carbon dioxide analyzer. The success of each trap was compared for each species in terms of the proportion of approaching mosquitoes that were caught. Flight parameters were also compared.
Species 1: Diptera Culicidae Culex tarsalis
Species 2: Diptera Culicidae Culex quinquefasciatus
Keywords: wind tunnel, flight
The ESA 2001 Annual Meeting - 2001: An Entomological Odyssey of ESA