A Comparison of Questing Substrates and Environmental Factors That Influence Nymphal Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae) Abundance and Seasonality in the Sierra Nevada Foothills of California.

In California, the western blacklegged tick, Ixodes pacificus Cooley and Kohls, is the principal vector of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (sl) complex (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae, Johnson et al.), which includes the causative agent of Lyme disease (B. burgdorferi sensu stricto).

Long-Term Rodent Surveillance after Outbreak of Hantavirus Infection, Yosemite National Park, California, USA, 2012.

In 2012, a total of 9 cases of hantavirus infection occurred in overnight visitors to Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California, USA. In the 6 years after the initial outbreak investigation, the California Department of Public Health conducted 11 rodent trapping events in developed areas of Yosemite Valley and 6 in Tuolumne Meadows to monitor the relative abundance of deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and seroprevalence of Sin Nombre orthohantavirus, the causative agent of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Deer mouse trap success in Yosemite Valley remained lower than that observed during the 2012 outbreak investigation.

Alteration of plant species assemblages can decrease the transmission potential of malaria mosquitoes.

Knowledge of the link between a vector population's pathogen-transmission potential and its biotic environment can generate more realistic forecasts of disease risk due to environmental change. It also can promote more effective vector control by both conventional and novel means.This study assessed the effect of particular plant species assemblages differing in nectar production on components of the vectorial capacity of the mosquito , an important vector of African malaria.

The Nonartemisinin Sesquiterpene Lactones Parthenin and Parthenolide Block Plasmodium falciparum Sexual Stage Transmission.

Parthenin and parthenolide are natural products that are closely related in structure to artemisinin, which is also a sesquiterpene lactone (SQL) and one of the most important antimalarial drugs available. Parthenin, like artemisinin, has an effect onPlasmodiumblood stage development. We extended the evaluation of parthenin as a potential therapeutic for the transmissible stages ofPlasmodium falciparumas it transitions between human and mosquito, with the aim of gaining potential mechanistic insight into the inhibitory activity of this compound.

La Crosse Virus in Aedes japonicus japonicus mosquitoes in the Appalachian Region, United States.

La Crosse virus (LACV), a leading cause of arboviral encephalitis in children in the United States, is emerging in Appalachia. For local arboviral surveillance, mosquitoes were tested. LACV RNA was detected and isolated from Aedes japonicus mosquitoes.

Rapid discrimination between Anopheles gambiae s.s. and Anopheles arabiensis by High-Resolution Melt (HRM) analysis.

There is a need for more cost-effective options to more accurately discriminate among members of the Anopheles gambiae complex, particularly An. gambiae and Anopheles arabiensis. These species are morphologically indistinguishable in the adult stage, have overlapping distributions, but are behaviorally and ecologically different, yet both are efficient vectors of malaria in equatorial Africa.

La Crosse virus infection alters blood feeding behavior in Aedes triseriatus and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae).

The effects of La Crosse virus (LACV) infection on blood feeding behavior in Aedes triseriatus (Say) and Aedes albopictus (Skuse) were investigated in the laboratory by measuring the size of the bloodmeal imbibed and the extent of refeeding by virus-infected and uninfected mosquitoes. LACV-infected Ae. triseriatus and Ae.

Effects of plant-community composition on the vectorial capacity and fitness of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae.

Dynamics of Anopheles gambiae abundance and malaria transmission potential rely strongly on environmental conditions. Female and male An. gambiae use sugar and are affected by its absence, but how the presence or absence of nectariferous plants affects An.

Effects of bed net use, female size, and plant abundance on the first meal choice (blood vs sugar) of the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae.

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the sugar-or-blood meal choice of Anopheles gambiae females one day after emergence is influenced by blood-host presence and accessibility, nectariferous plant abundance, and female size. This tested the hypothesis that the initial meal of female An. gambiae is sugar, even when a blood host is available throughout the night, and, if not, whether the use of a bed net diverts mosquitoes to sugar sources.

Seasonal abundance of Culex restuans and Culex pipiens in southwestern Virginia through ovitrapping.

Ovitrap collections were done to determine the seasonal distribution and ovipositional activity of Culex restuans and Culex pipiens in southwestern Virginia during summers 2002 and 2003. In both years, Cx. restuans was the first species collected and was the dominant species throughout the collecting period.

Oviposition preferences of Culex restuans and Culex pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) for selected infusions in oviposition traps and gravid traps.

Field studies were conducted in southwestern Virginia to determine the ovipositional preferences of Culex restuans and Culex pipiens by using ovitraps and gravid traps baited with selected infusions. For the ovitrap collections, 4 different infusions (manure, hay, grass, and rabbit chow) were used. Significant differences among infusions were detected on most sample dates for both species.