Project Number: 6402-22000-057-05
Project Type: Specific Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: May 01, 2006
End Date: Apr 30, 2009

Objective:
The main mosquito carriers of the West Nile virus in the south include the common house mosquitoes, Culex quinquefasciatus, Culex pipiens, Culex restuans and Culex salinarius. Proactive management programs need to be implemented to suppress mosquito populations and interrupt the spread of the disease. The goal of this project will be to survey selected locations in the Mississippi Delta for mosquitoes carrying the West Nile Virus for the purpose of identifying target mosquito populations for a biological control program. Improved formulations of registered mosquito biological control agents will be field tested to evaluate novel formulations developed at the National Biological Control Laboratory.

Approach:
Suitable mosquito collection sites will be identified in the Mississippi Delta. CDC light and gravid traps will be placed at each of the pre-determined collection sites in the afternoon, and collected the following morning. Female mosquitoes will be separated, by trap type and location, from other insects and the male mosquitoes discarded. Separated mosquitoes will be held on dry ice for identification to the species level. Up to 100 individuals of each species will be placed into vials called "pools" from a specific location/date. All identified mosquitoes will be assigned an accession number before the end of the week for the collection. The collections will be transferred to the ARS for West Nile Virus assay by the end of the collection week. Support personnel will assist in mosquito formulation studies and conduct basic laboratory duties.