Efficacy of bird-baited traps placed at different heights for collecting ornithophilic mosquitoes in eastern Queensland, Australia |
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| Authors: | Cassie C Jansen Paul Zborowski Scott A Ritchie Andrew F van den Hurk |
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| Institution: | Australian Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre for Emerging Infectious Disease, University of Queensland, Qld 4072, Australia.;
Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, School of Molecular and Microbial Sciences, University of Queensland, Qld 4072, Australia.;
Tropical Population Health Unit, Queensland Health, PO Box 1103, Caims, Qld 4870, Australia.;
School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, James Cook University, PO Box 6811, Smithfield, Qld 4878, Australia.;
Virology, Queensland Health Forensic and Scientific Services, PO Box 594, Archerfield, Qld 4108, Australia. |
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| Abstract: | To compare the efficacy of bird-baited traps with standard CO2-baited Centers for Disease Control (CDC) light traps for collecting ornithophilic mosquito species, seven Latin square trials were conducted at six urban sites in Cairns and Brisbane, Australia. Traps were placed 1 m above ground level and 5–10 m according to tree canopy height. CO2-baited CDC traps consistently collected more mosquitoes of all species than the bird-baited traps at all locations. In Brisbane, CO2-baited CDC traps placed at ground level collected significantly more Culex annulirostris Skuse than those at canopy height during two trials, and more Aedes vigilax (Skuse) and Ae. procax (Skuse) during one trial each. Conversely, in Cairns, CO2-baited CDC traps placed in the tree canopy collected significantly more Cx. squamosus (Taylor) during two trials, and significantly more Aedeomyia catasticta Knab and Cx. cubiculi Marks during one trial each. Consistently low yields of ornithophilic species including Cx. australicus Dobrotworsky & Drummond and Cx. quinquefasciatus Say in all traps tested suggests the need to employ alternative trapping measures to target these species in urban areas. |
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| Keywords: | Australia bird-baited trap light trap mosquito vertical distribution |
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