Double BR-OVT: a new trap model for collecting eggs and adult mosquitoes from Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes spp.

Abstract

The circulation of arboviruses throughout the world and the maintenance of lymphatic filariasis endemicity in tropical countries, combined with the lack of vaccines and specific treatments, highlight the importance of reducing the populations of mosquitoes involved in the transmission of these pathogens, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus. To contribute to the development of new strategies for monitoring and controlling these culicids, we evaluated the performance of the Double BR-OVT trap individually and in pairs, in the field. After 18 months, the Double BR-OVT traps captured a mean of 3.5 ± 7.4 and 1.8 ± 3.2 of Culex and Aedes/residence/cycle, respectively, in addition to 410 ± 588.3 Aedes eggs/residence/cycle. When installed in pairs, the Double BR-OVT traps collected three times more adult mosquitoes of C. quinquefasciatus (9.4 ± 8.3 Culex/ residence/bimester) and two times more Aedes spp. (3 ± 3.2 Aedes/residence/bimester) in comparison with the traps installed individually (2.6 ± 7.1 and 1.5 ± 3.2 Culex and Aedes/ residence/bimester, respectively) (p < 0.05). The Double BR-OVT trap has an exceptional advantage: it aggregates different functionalities into a single instrument, as this type of trap can concomitantly collect eggs and adult mosquitoes of C. quinquefasciatus and A. aegypti, a feature that makes it a potentially useful tool among the strategies for monitoring and controlling these mosquitoes.