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Culex pipiens (Culicidae) is attracted tohumans in southern Ontario, but will it serve as a bridge vector of WestNile virus?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2012

Curtis Russell  and
Fiona F. Hunter
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Abstract

We tested whether the known bird-biting mosquito, Culex pipiens Linnaeus (Diptera: Culicidae), is attracted to humanhosts by placing humans at ground level (∼1.5 m) or in the forest canopy (∼5m) in a Niagara woodlot. Modified Centers for Disease Control (CDC)miniature light traps (no light, no CO2) were placed next to thehuman hosts to capture the attracted mosquitoes. The human-baited traps werecompared with control traps (standard CDC miniature light traps with CO2, but no light). As expected from previous research, therewere more C. pipiens captured at the higher elevation thanat ground level. Generally, they were attracted to control traps more thanto human-baited traps at 5 m, whereas at 1.5 m there was no differencebetween the two trap types. As a comparison, most Aedes vexans (Meigen) mosquitoes were captured at the 1.5 m elevationbut there were significantly more captured in the control traps than thehuman-baited traps during all periods. Because C. pipiensis attracted to humans throughout the entire season at the 1.5 m height(where they might encounter humans), it is likely that C. pipiens can serve as a bridge vector of West Nile virus(WNV).

Résumé

Nous avons vérifié si le moustique piqueur d'oiseaux bien connu, Culex pipiens Linnaeus (Diptera: Culicidae), est attirépar les hôtes humains au niveau du sol (∼1,5 m) et au niveau de la canopée(∼5 m) dans une terre boisée de Niagara. Nous avons placé des piègeslumineux miniatures de type CDC (Centres de contrôle des maladies), sanslumière, ni CO2, près des hôtes humains pour capturer lesmoustiques attirés. Les pièges avec appâts humains ont été comparés à despièges témoins (des pièges miniatures CDC standard avec CO2, maissans lumière). Tel que le laissaient prévoir les recherches antérieures, ily a plus de C. pipiens au point plus élevé qu'au niveau dusol. Généralement, ils sont plus attirés par les pièges témoins que par lespièges avec appât humain à 5 m, alors qu’à 1,5 m il n'y a pas de différenceentre les deux types de pièges. Par comparaison, la plupart des moustiques Aedes vexans (Meigen) ont été capturés à la hauteur de1,5 m, mais il y avait significativement plus de captures dans les piègestémoins que dans les pièges avec appât humain durant toutes les périodes.Parce que C. pipiens est attiré par les humains duranttoute la saison à la hauteur de 1,5 m (là où il risque de rencontrer deshumains), il est vraisemblable que C. pipiens puisse servirde vecteur-pont pour le virus du Nil occidental (WNV).

Information

Type
Original Article
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 144 , Issue 5 , October 2012 , pp. 667 - 671
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2012

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