Trapping Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) and Other Beetles in Flourmills: Evaluating Fumigation Efficacy and Estimating Population Density.

This paper reports beetle pests common to flourmills targeted during a series of trapping studies over a two-year period in flourmill 1 and a one year period in flourmill 2. Objectives were (1) use pheromone-baited traps to detect T. castaneum (Herbst) and other pest species present for their distribution over space and time, (2) monitor T. castaneum activity before and after fumigations to assess efficacy of the treatment, and (3) correlate counts of T. castaneum via trap capture against direct T. castaneum counts from samples of the milled flour to assess the value of trap data to estimate relative size of the pest population. Traps were deployed in two different flourmills over two consecutive years. T. castaneum was the most commonly trapped beetle during both years in mill 1. In mill 2, Typhaea stercorea (L.) and Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens) were both captured in higher numbers than T. castaneum. In mill 1, trap capture was higher overall during Year 2 for most of the species compared with capture during Year 1, likely due to a dust cover modification made for the pitfall trap used in Year 2. Trap capture was also evaluated by location within the mills and a significant difference was found in the capture of T. stercorea during both years in mill 1. T. castaneum captures were significantly reduced following most fumigations, which used methyl bromide in milling areas and phosphine in bulk-stored finished flour. However, in most cases trap catches showed that beetle populations were not eliminated. Trap captures after fumigation suggest either that the fumigations were not entirely effective, or that full grown adult beetles were entering the mill soon after fumigation. When captures of T. castaneum from traps in two spaces of mill 1 during Year 2 were compared with counts of beetles from samples of siftings collected in the finished flour, the correlation coefficients were nearly significant for both sets of traps.

Responses of Red Flour Beetle Adults, Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), and Other Stored Product Beetles to Different Pheromone Trap Designs.

A series of laboratory and field experiments were performed to assess the responses of Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) and other stored-product beetles to pheromone-baited traps and trap components. A commercial Tribolium pitfall trap called the Flit-Trak M2, the predecessor to the Dome trap, was superior in both laboratory and field experiments over the other floor trap designs assessed at capturing walking T. castaneum. In field experiments, Typhaea stercorea (L.) and Ahasverus advena (Stephens) both preferred a sticky trap to the pitfall trap. Although the covered trap is effective at capturing several other species of stored product beetles, the synthetic Tribolium aggregation pheromone lure is critical for the pitfall trap's efficacy for T. castaneum. Although the food-based trapping oil used in the pitfall trap was not found to be attractive to T. castaneum when assayed alone, it had value as an enhancer of the pheromone bait when the two were used together in the trap. A dust cover modification made to go over the pitfall trap was effective in protecting the trap from dust, although the trap was still vulnerable to dust contamination from sanitation techniques that used compressed air to blow down the mill floors. Capture of T. castaneum in the modified trap performed as well as the standard trap design in a non-dusty area of a flour mill, and was significantly superior over the standard trap in a dusty area. T. castaneum responded in flight outside a flourmill preferentially to multiple funnel traps with pheromone lures compared to traps without pheromone.

A Comparison of Carbon Dioxide Sources for Mosquito Capture in Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Light Traps on the Florida Gulf Coast (1).

Traditional sources of carbon dioxide (CO2), dry ice, and compressed gas, were tested against 3 combinations of food-grade reagents known to generate CO2using a compact, lightweight generator delivery system with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention light traps. Three 6 × 6 Latin square trials were completed near the Florida Gulf Coast in the Lower Suwannee Wildlife Refuge during the summer of 2013, collecting a total of 31,632 female mosquitoes. Treatments included dry ice, compressed CO2gas, a control trap (no CO2), citric acid + sodium bicarbonate, vinegar + sodium bicarbonate, and yeast + sugar. Decreasing order of trap collections (treatment mean number of mosquitoes per trap night ± standard error) were dry ice 773.5 (± 110.1) > compressed gas 440.7 (± 42.3) > citric acid + sodium bicarbonate 197.6 (± 30.4), yeast + sugar 153.6 (± 27.4) > vinegar + sodium bicarbonate 109.6 (± 16.2) > control 82.4 (± 14.0). A 2-way Kruskal-Wallis analysis by treatment, site, and treatment × site interaction identified significant differences between all treatments. Although dry ice and compressed CO2gas collected significantly more mosquitoes than other combinations (P < 0.05), use of citric acid and sodium bicarbonate or yeast and sugar greatly outperformed unbaited traps and offer a good alternative to dry ice and compressed gas in areas where these agents are not readily available or are difficult to obtain due to logistical constraints. An inexpensive, portable CO2generator for use with food-grade reagents is described.

Exploring new thermal fog and ultra-low volume technologies to improve indoor control of the dengue vector, Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae).

Control of the mosquito vector, Aedes aegypti (L.), inside human habitations must be performed quickly and efficiently to reduce the risk of transmission during dengue outbreaks. As part of abroad study to assess the efficacy of dengue vector control tools for the U.S. Military, two pesticide delivery systems (ultra-low volume [ULV] and thermal fog) were evaluated for their ability to provide immediate control of Ae. aegypti mosquitoes with a contact insecticide inside simulated urban structures. An insect growth regulator was also applied to determine how well each sprayer delivered lethal doses of active ingredient to indoor water containers for pupal control. Mortality of caged Ae. aegypti, pesticide droplet size, and droplet deposition were recorded after applications. In addition, larval and pupal mortality was measured from treated water samples for 4 wk after the applications. The ULV and the thermal fogger performed equally well in delivering lethal doses of adulticide throughout the structures. The ULV resulted in greater larval mortality and adult emergence inhibition in the water containers for a longer period than the thermal fogger. Therefore, the ULV technology is expected to be a better tool for sustained vector suppression when combined with an effective insect growth regulator. However, during a dengue outbreak, either delivery system should provide an immediate knockdown of vector populations that may lower the risk of infection and allow other suppression strategies to be implemented.

Truck-Mounted Area-Wide Application of Pyriproxyfen Targeting Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Northeast Florida.

This study was conducted to determine the efficacy of truck-mounted ultra-low volume applications of pyriproxyfen against Aedes aegypti larvae in artificial water containers and wild adult Ae. albopictus populations in an urban setting. The study was conducted over a 3.5-month period (June-October 2012), during which 3 pyriproxyfen applications were conducted. Beginning 6 wk prior to the 1st pyriproxyfen spray, 10 Biogents-Sentinel® traps were used each week to survey the adult Ae. albopictus population at each experimental plot through the end of the study. The treatment and control plots contained specimen cups, each containing 10 laboratory-reared Ae. aegypti larvae, placed at 8, 15, and 23 m from the spray line. Emergence inhibition (EI) of 82% or greater was observed among Ae. aegypti larvae exposed to the 3 pyriproxyfen sprays. The EI of these same Ae. aegypti larvae at the 3 distances from the spray ranged from 84% to 92% and were not significantly different. Laboratory analysis of water samples taken from the larval cups independently confirmed the presence of pyriproxyfen. Similar levels of EI were achieved in Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus larvae when the measured field concentrations of pyriproxyfen were recreated in laboratory assays. Trap captures of wild adult Ae. albopictus were not markedly reduced following the 1st pyriproxyfen spray, perhaps due to heavy rainfall at the time and the lower rate of pyriproxyfen applied. Within 2 wk following Spray 2, however, Ae. albopictus collections from the treatment plot averaged approximately 50% of those from the control plot, and the reduction trend continued following Spray 3.

Short report: surveillance of Leishmania sp. among sand flies in Sicily (Italy) using a fluorogenic real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum is a complex zoonotic disease, resulting in cutaneous and visceral manifestations in both dogs and humans. The present study involved a published Taqman fluorogenic real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay for surveillance of Leishmania sp. parasites among sand flies trapped in two provinces in Sicily, Catania and Agrigento, during the summer and fall of 2003. Only male specimens were identified to species level, while females were used to evaluate Leishmania sp. infection by PCR testing. The two most prevalent sand fly species found were Phlebotomus perfiliewi and P. perniciosus. Of the female sand flies tested, 2.9% were positive for Leishmania sp. DNA by the PCR.