Medical Entomology

WOTY_36

Mosquito populations (as collected in New Jersey Light Traps) are shown for the state of Iowa in 2005 and 2006. These traps attract mosquitoes drawn to light, and so measure the number of mosquitoes (male and female) that are active from dusk-dawn. The mosquitoes shown are generally pest species (Aedes species, left axis) or disease carrying species (Culex species, right axis). Traps run in 12 counties in the state, each of which has 2-5 traps. In order to plot results in a manner that facilitates comparison, the total number of mosquitoes trapped throughout the state is divided by the number of traps running x number of nights during which traps ran. Although the number of mosquitoes trapped is low, Iowans are encouraged to protect themselves from mosquito-borne disease by practicing mosquito control measures because virus has been recently detected in mosquitoes at sites across the state. We expect to see mosquito numbers continue to drop as it gets colder.