A photographic key to the adult female biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae: Culicoides) of Florida, USA.

The biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae: Culicoides) are a diverse group of blood-feeding flies that includes numerous pest and vector species. Major gaps exist in our knowledge of the biology and ecology of the majority of Culicoides spp., due in part to a lack of keys for identifying the biting midges of a given region.

Regional variation in the landscape ecology of West Nile virus sentinel chicken seroconversion in Florida.

How landscape composition and configuration impact the distribution of multi-vector and multi-host mosquito vector-borne disease systems, such as West Nile virus (WNV), remains challenging because of complex habitat and resource requirements by hosts and vectors that affect transmission opportunities. We examined correlations between landscape composition and configuration and 2018 WNV sentinel chicken seroconversion in Florida, USA across the state and within five National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) bioclimatic regions to understand strength and variation of landscape effects during an elevated transmission year. Although few landscape studies have examined WNV in Florida, we expected higher percentages of residential or medium-developed landscapes and more fragmented landscapes would be positively correlated with WNV seroconversion owing to the main mosquito vector habitats and avian host distributions.

Effect of physiological and environmental factors on mosquito wingbeat frequency.

Wingbeat frequency may serve as a distinctive physical signature for identifying mosquito species. However, variation in wingbeat frequency within species may compromise reliability of wingbeat frequency-based mosquito identification. We examined the impact of mosquito density (number of females), time of day (day or night), gravid status, and age (days post-emergence) on the wingbeat frequency of three important vector mosquito species using infrared optical sensors.

LA CROSSE VIRUS VECTOR RESTING BEHAVIORS - FIELD STUDIES WITH PROKOPAK AND RESTING SHELTER COLLECTIONS PROVIDE LOW YIELD.

Resting adult mosquito collections provide opportunities to sample broad physiological conditions (e.g., blood-engorged, gravid, nectar-engorged, and/or parous) that yield important biological information necessary to understand vector and pathogen transmission ecology.

Midge Abundance across Years: Modeling Inter-Annual Variation for an Avian Feeder and a Candidate Vector of Hemorrhagic Diseases in Farmed Wildlife.

(1) Background: Epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) and bluetongue virus (BTV) are orbiviruses that cause hemorrhagic disease (HD) with significant economic and population health impacts on domestic livestock and wildlife. In the United States, white-tailed deer () are particularly susceptible to these viruses and are a frequent blood meal host for various species of biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) that transmit orbiviruses. The species of that transmit EHDV and BTV vary between regions, and larval habitats can differ widely between vector species.

Rapid detection of West Nile and Dengue viruses from mosquito saliva by loop-mediated isothermal amplification and displaced probes.

Arthropod-borne viruses are major causes of human and animal disease, especially in endemic low- and middle-income countries. Mosquito-borne pathogen surveillance is essential for risk assessment and vector control responses. Sentinel chicken serosurveillance (antibody testing) and mosquito pool screening (by RT-qPCR or virus isolation) are currently used to monitor arbovirus transmission, however substantial time lags of seroconversion and/or laborious mosquito identification and RNA extraction steps sacrifice their early warning value.

Changes in mosquito species and blood meal composition associated with adulticide applications.

Although adulticide application is a pillar in the integrated management of nuisance and vector mosquitoes, non-target effects of adulticide applications within ecosystems are a substantial concern. However, the impacts of adulticide applications on non-target organisms are not necessarily detrimental, and in some cases, may provide benefits to certain organisms or wildlife. Here, we hypothesized that adulticide applications have beneficial non-target impacts on vertebrate wildlife through reduced biting pressure.

Everglades virus: an underrecognized disease-causing subtype of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus endemic to Florida, USA.

Everglades virus (EVEV) is subtype II of the Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) complex (Togaviridae: Alphavirus), endemic to Florida, USA. EVEV belongs to a clade that includes both enzootic and epizootic/epidemic VEEV subtypes. Like other enzootic VEEV subtypes, muroid rodents are important vertebrate hosts for EVEV and certain mosquitoes are important vectors.

Integrated pest management strategies targeting the Florida kissing bug, : Preventing this vector of Chagas disease from invading your home.

Triatomines (Hemiptera: Reduviidae: Triatominae), commonly called "kissing bugs", are blood-sucking pests and vectors of the protozoan parasite , the causative agent of Chagas disease (CD). Eleven species of kissing bugs occur throughout the southern half of the USA, four of which are well known to invade human dwellings. Certain kissing bugs in the USA are known to transmit to humans and other animals and their bites can also lead to serious allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis.

An Inexpensive System to Investigate the Daily Rhythms of Insects.

Insects' daily rhythms occur in response to their surrounding environment. Recognizing the daily rhythms of pathogen vectors can be helpful in developing effective, safe, and sustainable management strategies to control vector insects and reduce the spread of pathogens. However, studying the daily rhythm of insects often requires costly or labor-intensive trapping, and few tools are available to quantify daily rhythms in the field.

Amplification and Identification of Vertebrate Host Cytochrome Oxidase Subunit I () DNA Barcoding Templates from Mosquito Blood Meals.

Mosquitoes take blood meals from a diverse range of host animals and their host associations vary by species. Characterizing these associations is an important element of the transmission dynamics of mosquito-vectored pathogens. To characterize mosquito host associations, various molecular techniques have been developed, which are collectively referred to as blood meal analysis.

Preservation of Field-Collected Mosquito Blood Meals.

All PCR- and DNA-based blood meal analyses require host DNA from a mosquito blood meal to be effectively preserved between the time when the specimen is collected and the extraction of DNA. As soon as a mosquito ingests blood from a host animal, digestion of host cells and cellular components within the blood meal by enzymes in the mosquito midgut begins to degrade the host DNA templates that are the targets of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. Without effective preservation, host DNA is typically undetectable by PCR 48 h after feeding, because of digestion.

Extracting DNA from Preserved Mosquito Blood Meals.

Mosquito species vary in their host associations. Although some species are relative generalists, most specialize, to varying extents, on particular types of host animals. Mosquito host associations are among the most important factors that influence the transmission dynamics of mosquito-vectored pathogens, and understanding these associations can provide insight on how such pathogens move within ecosystems.

Mosquito Blood Meal Analysis.

The host associations of mosquitoes vary by species, with some species being relative generalists, whereas others specialize, to varying extents, on a particular subset of the available host community. These host associations are driving factors in transmission dynamics of mosquito-vectored pathogens. For this reason, characterizing the host associations of mosquito species is critical for understanding the epidemiology of mosquito-vectored pathogens.

Multiplex Surveillance Kit Using Sweetened Solid Support to Detect Arboviruses Isothermally in Mosquito Saliva from the Field.

Recently reported "displaceable probe" loop amplification (DP-LAMP) architecture has shown to amplify viral RNA from SARS-CoV-2 with little sample processing. The architecture allows signals indicating the presence of target nucleic acids to be spatially separated, and independent in sequence, from the complicated concatemer that LAMP processes create as part of their amplification process. This makes DP-LAMP an attractive molecular strategy to integrate with trap and sampling innovations to detect RNA from arboviruses carried by mosquitoes in the field.

Host associations of biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae: Culicoides) at deer farms in Florida, USA.

Documenting the host use of vector species is important for understanding the transmission dynamics of vector-borne pathogens. Biting midges (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae: Culicoides) are vectors of epizootic hemorrhagic disease virus (EHDV) and bluetongue virus (BTV) worldwide. However, relative to mosquitoes and many other vector groups, host associations of this group are poorly documented.

Culex (Phenacomyia) lactator (Diptera: Culicidae) in southern Florida, USA: a new subgenus and species country record.

The Culex subgenus Phenacomyia is a small and poorly studied group of three mosquito species native to the American tropics. Here, we report the first detections of established populations of Culex (Phenacomyia) lactator Dyar & Knab in three counties of southern Florida. Culex lactator was first detected in May 2018 in southern Miami-Dade County, and, at this locality, was collected in subsequent years from 2018 to 2022 as both adults and immatures.

Predicting the potential distribution of in Florida and the Caribbean using ecological niche models.

Everglades virus (EVEV), an enzootic subtype of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus, along with its endemic mosquito vector, , is known only from South Florida. The taxonomy of is complex and was once synonymous with and . We modeled potential distribution of in Florida and the Caribbean using an ecological niche model and compared this distribution to the recorded distribution of EVEV in Florida as well as historical records of /.

Aedes albopictus host odor preference does not drive observed variation in feeding patterns across field populations.

Laboratory and field-based studies of the invasive mosquito Aedes albopictus demonstrate its competency to transmit over twenty different pathogens linked to a broad range of vertebrate hosts. The vectorial capacity of Ae. albopictus to transmit these pathogens remains unclear, partly due to knowledge gaps regarding its feeding behavior.

Everglades virus evolution: Genome sequence analysis of the envelope 1 protein reveals recent mutation and divergence in South Florida wetlands.

Everglades virus (EVEV) is a subtype (II) of Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), endemic in southern Florida, USA. EVEV has caused clinical encephalitis in humans, and antibodies have been found in a variety of wild and domesticated mammals. Over 29,000 females, the main vector of EVEV, were collected in 2017 from Big Cypress and Fakahatchee Strand Preserves in Florida and pool-screened for the presence of EVEV using reverse transcription real-time polymerase chain reaction.

Predicting potential transmission risk of Everglades virus in Florida using mosquito blood meal identifications.

The overlap between arbovirus host, arthropod vectors, and pathogen distributions in environmentally suitable habitats represents a nidus where risk for pathogen transmission may occur. Everglades virus (EVEV), subtype II Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV), is endemic to southern Florida where it is transmitted by the endemic vector between muroid rodent hosts. We developed an ecological niche model (ENM) to predict areas in Florida suitable for EVEV transmission based upon georeferenced vector-host interactions from PCR-based blood meal analysis from blood-engorged female females.