Kīpahulu Valley, Haleakalā National Park, Hawai'i Adult Mosquito Monitoring 2022-2023.
Description
As part of a larger study looking at the seasonal distribution and relative abundance of the southern house mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus in Kīpahulu Valley, Haleakalā National Park, adult mosquito distribution and abundance was monitored at two altitudinal sites throughout the year. Study sites at Delta Camp (915 m asl) and Palikea Camp (1280 m asl) were visited twice during each three-month season from September 2022 to September 2023. At each study site, 15 BioGents (BG) Sentinel II traps (S), 15 BioGents Pro traps (P), and 15 Center for Disease Control (CDC) Gravid traps (G) were operated for 4-7 nights across a 1-kilometer square area. CO2 baited traps (S and P) were operated at 30 fixed transect stations located 100 meters apart and baited with CO2 and BG-Lure or CO2 alone, respectively. Gravid traps were co-located with P traps and baited with a 5-day-old timothy hay infusion. CO2 was released at a delivery rate of 250 ml/min. BioGents Pro traps were suspended in the tree canopy and configured like CDC miniature light traps but were not operated with lights. Acoustic lures (400 hertz) were briefly used with S traps in an attempt to enhance male Culex quinquefasciatus capture. All traps were operated from late afternoon to mid morning of the following day. Each morning captured mosquitoes were extracted from the traps, identified, sexed, enumerated, and preserved dry or in 100% molecular grade ethanol in batches of 1-10. Culex quinquefasciatus and Aedes japonicus adults were captured seasonally at both sites. No Aedes albopictus were captured. Only female mosquitoes were captured.