Biology, Ecology and Management of Mosquitoes Affecting Humans and Animals

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Medical and Livestock Entomology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2024 | Viewed by 2888

Special Issue Editor

Laboratory of Efficacy Control of Pesticides, Benaki Phytopathological Institute, 8 St. Delta str., 14561 Kifissia, Attica, Greece
Interests: mosquitoes; mosquito surveillance; mosquito bio-ecology; competitive interactions; natural products; essential oils; insecticides; repellents
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

Mosquitoes pose a great threat to human and animal health as vectors of many important diseases such as malaria, dengue, West Nile virus, yellow fever, filariasis and encephalitis. Successful management of mosquitoes requires not only an integrated mosquito management concept, in which all appropriate methods for control are used, but also knowledge of the biology and ecology of the target organisms. In this perspective, the current Special Issue aims at presenting recent knowledge on mosquito life-cycle characteristics affected by biotic and abiotic factors, competitive interactions between mosquitoes, and the distribution and abundance of mosquito species. This Special Issue will also report recent advances in integrated mosquito management, including surveillance methods, the use of synthetic insecticides and repellents, nanotechnology, bio-insecticides such as botanicals and microbials, biological control agents, attract-and-kill strategies, sterile insect techniques and insecticide resistance management. Hence, submissions of original research articles and reviews on mosquito bio-ecology and management are welcome. Research areas may include, but are not limited to, the following: medical and veterinary entomology, applied entomology, parasitology, mosquito bio-ecology and mosquito control.

Dr. Athanasios Giatropoulos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mosquito bio-ecology
  • competition
  • mosquito surveillance
  • mosquito control
  • insecticides
  • repellents
  • insecticide resistance

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1158 KiB  
Article
Design and Evaluation of a Sticky Attractant Trap for Intra-Domiciliary Surveillance of Aedes aegypti Populations in Mexico
by Keila Elizabeth Paiz-Moscoso, Luis Alberto Cisneros-Vázquez, Rogelio Danís-Lozano, Jorge J. Rodríguez-Rojas, Eduardo A. Rebollar-Téllez, Rosa María Sánchez-Casas and Ildefonso Fernández-Salas
Insects 2023, 14(12), 940; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14120940 - 11 Dec 2023
Viewed by 971
Abstract
Surveillance consists of systematic data collection, analysis, and interpretation and is essential for planning and implementing control activities. The lack of success in the control and surveillance of the Ae. aegypti mosquito elsewhere demands the development of new accessible and effective strategies. This [...] Read more.
Surveillance consists of systematic data collection, analysis, and interpretation and is essential for planning and implementing control activities. The lack of success in the control and surveillance of the Ae. aegypti mosquito elsewhere demands the development of new accessible and effective strategies. This work aimed to develop and evaluate an adhesive lure trap for household indoor surveillance of Ae. aegypti. Based on a bibliographic review, four compounds that have significant attraction percentages for Ae. aegypti were considered. Our more effective blend was determined through preliminary bioassays using the high-throughput screening system (HITSS) and 90 × 90 cm mosquito cages. We designed a low-cost, pyramid-shaped, sticky cardboard trap to incorporate the selected blend. Semi-field 2 × 2 m cages and field tests were utilized to evaluate its effectiveness through mosquito capture percentages. In laboratory tests, blend number 2 presented an attraction percentage of 47.5 ± 4.8%; meanwhile, in semi-field cages, a 4-inch, 110 v powered fan was used to disperse the attractants, and then a similar capture percentage of 43.2 ± 4.0% was recorded. Results were recorded during the field evaluation of the at-house indoor environment and were compared with those recorded with the golden-standard BG-Sentinel trap, i.e., our prototype trapped an average of 6.0 ± 1.5 mosquitoes versus 10.0 ± 2.6. In most Latin American countries, there is a lack of formal and accessible strategies for monitoring adult populations of Ae. Aegypti; therefore, we must develop tools that reinforce entomological surveillance methods. Full article
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12 pages, 3306 KiB  
Article
Mosquito Blood Feeding Prevention Using an Extra-Low DC Voltage Charged Cloth
by Kun Luan, Marian G. McCord, Andre J. West, Grayson Cave, Nicholas V. Travanty, Charles S. Apperson and R. Michael Roe
Insects 2023, 14(5), 405; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14050405 - 23 Apr 2023
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1418
Abstract
Mosquito vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue pose a major threat to human health. Personal protection from mosquito blood feeding is mostly by treating clothing with insecticides and the use of repellents on clothing and skin. Here, we developed a low-voltage, mosquito-resistant [...] Read more.
Mosquito vector-borne diseases such as malaria and dengue pose a major threat to human health. Personal protection from mosquito blood feeding is mostly by treating clothing with insecticides and the use of repellents on clothing and skin. Here, we developed a low-voltage, mosquito-resistant cloth (MRC) that blocked all blood feeding across the textile and was flexible and breathable. The design was based on mosquito head and proboscis morphometrics, the development of a novel 3-D textile with the outer conductive layers insulated from each other with an inner, non-conductive woven mesh, and the use of a DC (direct current; extra-low-voltage) resistor-capacitor. Blockage of blood feeding was measured using host-seeking Aedes aegypti adult female mosquitoes and whether they could blood feed across the MRC and an artificial membrane. Mosquito blood feeding decreased as voltage increased from 0 to 15 volts. Blood feeding inhibition was 97.8% at 10 volts and 100% inhibition at 15 volts, demonstrating proof of concept. Current flow is minimal since conductance only occurs when the mosquito proboscis simultaneously touches the outside layers of the MRC and is then quickly repelled. Our results demonstrated for the first time the use of a biomimetic, mosquito-repelling technology to prevent blood feeding using extra-low energy consumption. Full article
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