Abstract
Sterile insect technique (SIT) is a promising, environmentally friendly alternative to the use of pesticides for insect pest control. However, implementing SIT with Aedes aegypti (Linnaeus) mosquitoes presents unique challenges. For example, during transport from the rearing facility to the release site and during the actual release in the field, damage to male mosquitoes should be minimized to preserve their reproductive competitiveness. The short flight range of male Ae. aegypti requires elaborate release strategies such as release via Unmanned Aircraft Systems, more commonly referred to as drones. Two key parameters during transport and release are storage temperature and compaction rate. We performed a set of laboratory experiments to identify the optimal temperatures and compaction rates for storage and transport of male Ae. aegypti. We then conducted shipping experiments to test our laboratory-derived results in a ‘real-life’ setting. The laboratory results indicate that male Ae. aegypti can survive at a broad range of storage temperatures ranging from 7 to 28°C, but storage time should not exceed 24 h. Male survival was high at all compaction rates we tested with a low at 40 males/cm3. Interestingly, results from our ‘real-life’ shipping experiment showed that high compaction rates were beneficial to survival. This study advances key understudied aspects of the practicalities of moving lab-reared insects into the field and lies the foundation for further studies on the effect of transport conditions on male reproductive fitness.
Highlights
Sterile insect technique (SIT) is a promising, environmentally friendly alternative to the use of pesticides for insect pest control
We conducted shipping experiments to test our laboratory-derived results in a ‘real-life’ setting.The laboratory results indicate that male Ae. aegypti can survive at a broad range of storage temperatures ranging from 7 to 28°C, but storage time should not exceed 24 h
Storage Temperature Affects Mosquito Survival During Incubator Storage We started this study by determining suitable storage temperatures for male mosquitoes that were stored in 10 cm3 containers in groups of 20 males
Summary
Sterile insect technique (SIT) is a promising, environmentally friendly alternative to the use of pesticides for insect pest control. From Africa, this pestiferous insect is found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions throughout the world The spread of these mosquitoes has brought the threat of these viral diseases to new geographic areas with further spread predicted as a result of temperature changes from global warming. Sterile insect technique (SIT) is a targeted, environmentally friendly tactic for insect control where large quantities of sterile males are released into targeted areas, where they compete with the wild male population for mating opportunities with females (Dyck et al 2006, Thome et al 2010). Matings between wild females and sterilized males do not produce viable eggs Over time this technique reduces the number of individuals in the local population, which leads to a decline in and eventually a crash of the entire population (Benedict and Robinson 2003, Klassen 2009). Three such examples are as follows: 1) the North and Central American screwworm fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax Coquerel [Diptera: Calliphoridae]), which was eradicated from southern United States, Mexico, and all of Central America (Atzeni et al 1994, Krafsur and Lindquist 1996, Wyss 2000); 2) the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann Wiedemann [Diptera: Tephritidae]), eradicated from Central America and Mexico (Hendrichs et al 2002, Juan-Blasco et al 2014); and 3) the tsetse fly (Glossina austeni Newstead [Diptera: Glossinidae]), which was eradicated from the island of Zanzibar in Tanzania (Vreysen et al 2000, Dyck et al 2006, Abd-Alla et al 2013)
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