Insecticide resistance in Florida mosquito vectors?
Improving domestic mosquito control of Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus through assessments of insecticide susceptibility
Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, and Culex quinquefasciatus are domestic mosquitoes in Florida. Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus are vectors of dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika viruses. Culex quinquefasciatus is a vector of West Nile and St. Louis encephalitis viruses. Higher transmission of rates of the viruses vectored by Ae. aegypti, Ae. albopictus, and Cx. quinquefasciatus in recent years highlights the public health importance of these species. Insecticide resistance is an inevitable result of overuse/reliance on a single class of insecticides and compromises efforts to control mosquitoes. Resistance to various pyrethroid and/or organophosphate insecticides has been detected in Florida populations of domestic mosquitoes, but the extent of this resistance is not clear. Therefore, we are evaluating insecticide susceptibility to pyrethroid and organophosphate active ingredients in Florida mosquito populations of Ae. aegypti, Ae. albopictus, and Cx. quinquefasciatus. Mosquito eggs or larvae will be collected from sites throughout Florida, and their offspring will be tested for susceptibility to insecticides using CDC bottle bioassays. Results from the bioassays will be provided to mosquito control programs to help them make informed decisions about resistance management. Additionally, the bioassay results will be used to create mosquito and resistance spatial distribution maps. This project is funded by the Florida Department of Health grant contract CODQJ. Surveillance and resistance testing services are offered for free to the following counties in Florida under this contract:
Bay, Bradford, Brevard, Calhoun, Citrus, Duval, Escambia, Flagler, Franklin, Gadsden, Glades, Hernando, Holmes, Jackson, Lake, Leon, Liberty, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okaloosa, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Polk, Santa Rosa, Seminole, St. Lucie, Volusia, Walton, and Washington.
If you would like to learn more about providing mosquito eggs or larvae from one of the counties listed above for insecticide resistance testing, please email Dr. Eva Buckner @ eva.buckner@ufl.edu
- Quarter 1 Report
- Quarter 2 Report
- Quarter 3 Report
- Quarter 4 Report
- Year 2 Quarter 1 Report
- Year 2 Quarter 2 Report
- PDF - Map of domestic mosquito populations insecticide resistance testing results for July 1 - September 30, 2020
- Year 2 Quarter 3 Report
- PDF - Distribution map of domestic mosquito populations collected and tested October 1 - December 31, 2020
- Year 2 Quarter 4 Report
- PDF - Distribution map of domestic mosquito populations collected and tested January 1 - March 31, 2021
- Year 3 Quarter 1 Report
- PDF - Distribution map of domestic mosquito populations collected and tested April 1 - June 30, 2021