Sampling with a well-defined purpose: A comparison of adult mosquito sampling tactics

Numerous mosquito surveillance techniques are used by mosquito control boards and public health organizations to identify and evaluate the potential for local transmission of mosquito borne disease, although gender or species sampling biases are known to exist among them. As the Southeastern United States faces the threat of Chikungunya introduction, novel, cost-effective methods of mosquito surveillance are critically important for the region’s public health. In this study, we compared the performance of the three most commonly used mosquito sampling techniques: the CDC light trap with dry ice (the current gold standard of mosquito sampling), the P. Reiter Gravid mosquito traps with hay infusion, and aerial insect nets; in addition to a novel vacuuming suction device. Sampling was performed in Athens, Georgia, at the courtyard of the University of Georgia Biological Sciences Building from August, 2013 until November, 2015. Linear regression analysis was performed using the statistical package R.  During months with high mosquito populations, the detection efficacy of our vacuum sampling device met that of the traditional CDC light traps. The following species were detected by both the CDC light trap with dry ice and vacuum sampling: Aedes albopictus, Ochlerotatus japonicus, Aedes vexans, Culex restuans, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Psorophora ferox. All mosquito sampling devices and techniques have a gender bias towards females, minimized with vacuum sampling.