All-in-One Mosquito Containers: From the Laboratory to the Release Sites

Abstract

Simple Summary: The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopicus (Skuse), is a vector of dangerous diseases, such as dengue, Zika and Chikungunya, and has spread extensively in Europe since its initial detection in the 1970s. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) has proven effective in disease-vector pilot projects carried out worldwide by producing and releasing high quality, sterile male mosquitoes. To implement the Sterile Insect Technique in large-scale programs, improved cost-effectiveness would be required. In the following article we will assess the effect that containing sterile male mosquitoes in the proposed all-in-one containers from pupa to adult stages and until release has on their quality. We will also assess the potential damage to samples during handling and how production costs could be reduced. An automatic variable-dosage release system, currently under development, to be installed in publicly-owned vehicles, may release sterile mosquitoes in the appropriate dose, optimizing available resources and considerably reducing the release cost. Abstract: Integrated vector control programs that use a Sterile Insect Technique approach require the production and release of large numbers of high quality, sterile male insects. In pilot projects conducted worldwide, sterile males are usually kept in containers at low densities until their manual release on the ground. Although the quality of the released insects is high, these containers are only suitable for small-scale projects, given the fact that the manual labor required for release is significant and therefore untenable in large-scale projects. This study will compare and contrast the quality of the males reared in the proposed “all-in-one” containers which considerably reduce both the handling of the insects and the manual labor required for release. As a result, project costs are lower. The design of these “all-in-one” containers incorporates two important features: ventilation and the density of the vertical resting surface. Having evaluated both features, it can be concluded that ventilation does not directly affect the quality of the insects, at least in the range of dimensions tested. However, the quality of the male insects is reduced in relation to an increase in the number of mosquitoes, with 500 being the optimum quantity of mosquitoes per “all-in-one” container.