Determinants of Male Aedes aegypti and Aedes polynesiensis (Diptera: Culicidae) Response to Sound: Efficacy and Considerations for Use of Sound Traps in the Field

Understanding the mating competitiveness of male mosquitoes in field settings is essential to programs relying on the mass release of modified male mosquitoes, yet studies on male ecology have been hampered by the lack of a convenient trapping method. An existing promising method makes use of the innate attraction of males to female flight tones. Here, we present laboratory, greenhouse, and field experiments on the efficacy of sound traps for the collection of Aedes aegypti (L.) and Aedes polynesiensis Marks, and laboratory experiments with Ae. aegypti on the effects of male age, size, and mating status on responsiveness to a range of frequencies. Age and mating status influenced the overall responsiveness to sound, whereas male size did not. There were no interactions between these factors and sound frequency. A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention miniature light trap modified to produce a tone of 465 Hz collected 76.2% of Ae. aegypti males in laboratory cages, and 49.7% of males in a greenhouse enclosure. In two sets of experiments in laboratory cages, 50.8 and 46.5% of male Ae. polynesiensis were captured with a trap producing a tone of 440 Hz. In the field, CDC miniature light traps or BG-Sentinel traps fitted with a portable speaker producing tones of 440 or 465 Hz captured significantly more male Ae. polynesiensis when placed near a male swarm than did traps that did not produce sound. When the trap was placed at a distance of 16.5 m from the nearest swarm, there was no significant difference in the number of males caught between control and sound-producing traps. The numbers of Ae. aegypti males captured were low under all circumstances in the field.