Setting a Baseline: A Clearer View of Mosquito Resistance to Insecticides
By Andrew Porterfield Mosquito control professionals have made significant gains toward managing malaria worldwide, as well as defending against West Nile virus, chikungunya, dengue, St. Louis encephalitis, and, more recently, […]
Why Are There So Many Mosquito-Borne Virus Outbreaks in the Americas?
By Josh Lancette In the past few decades, outbreaks of multiple mosquito-borne viruses have been popping up throughout North and South America. Some of these viruses are well known to […]
Mosquito Experts at the 2016 International Congress of Entomology
Jason Thomas, a graduate student at Texas A&M University, recently interviewed mosquito experts at the 2016 International Congress of Entomology in Orlando, Florida: For more info about the Congress, visit […]
Chemicals from a Mosquito Predator May Be Used to Control Them
For decades, people have used a biological pesticide called Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) to control mosquitoes and other insects. Bacillus thuringiensis is a bacterium that produces a protein that is […]
Who, What, and Where Do Mosquitoes Bite?
By Cameron Webb Mosquitoes bite. They need to bite. Female mozzies require the nutritional hit of a bloodmeal to develop eggs. The blood can come from many different animals. Some […]
New Trap Proves Effective Against the Mosquito that Transmits Zika, Dengue, and Chikungunya
By Harvey Black As concern and controversy swirl about the Zika virus, Argentinian researchers have developed a new trap that can be used to effectively monitor and control the Aedes […]
A Clip-on Repellent Device Offers Protection Against Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes
By Josh Lancette With public concern about the Zika virus growing daily, people are looking for effective ways to prevent mosquito bites, and now there’s some good news for the […]
Mosquitoes More Likely to Lay Eggs in Water Sources Near Flowers
By Josh Lancette Certain mosquitoes are more likely to lay eggs in water sources near flowers than in water sources without flowers, according to an article published in the Journal […]
Thirty-three Cases of Dengue Fever on Hawaii Island
The State of Hawaii’s Department of Health is investigating a cluster of locally-acquired cases of dengue fever on Hawaii Island. Dengue is not endemic to Hawaii. However, it is intermittently […]
Mowing Grass in Water-Detention Basins Increases Mosquito Populations
Mowing grass and weeds is a useful way of managing some pests. For example, clearing yards and fields is one way of managing ticks without using insecticides because mowing discourages […]
Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes Reduce Dengue Transmitters by 95 Percent
The results of a trial of genetically engineered mosquitoes intended to reduce their ability to transmit dengue fever have been published in the journal PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases. The mosquitoes, […]
Researchers Find La Crosse Virus in Aedes japonicus Mosquitoes
By Harvey Black Researchers have found another invasive mosquito species that carries the virus responsible for La Crosse encephalitis in the Appalachian region. In the April 2015 edition of Emerging […]
Wolbachia Bacteria Can Control Mosquitoes with Fewer Chemicals
By Erin Weeks Imagine that a strain of bacteria living in your body had the power to protect you from deadly viruses, render you sterile, or even help give rise […]
Researchers Discover Natural Insect Growth Regulators in Plants
Insect growth regulators, or IGRs, are chemicals that are used in some insecticides to control certain insects. Unlike many other insecticides, they are not nerve agents and they generally do […]
Some Facts About Florida’s Genetically Modified Mosquitoes
A new genetic-modification technique known as RIDL (Release of Insects carrying a Dominant Lethal) tinkers with the DNA of male mosquitoes, which do not bite people or other animals. When males mate, they pass on a lethal gene that cause all their offspring to die.
Why Fly When You Can Hitchhike? Mosquitoes Rely on Roads to Disperse
It’s only been about a year since the tropical disease chikungunya was first spotted in the Western Hemisphere. In December 2013, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control issued a travel […]