Week 3

Gravid Traps

This week we learned how to set gravid traps. These traps have a collection cup positioned above a plastic basin filled with something we call "Mosquito Soup"—a mix of hay and water that’s been sitting outside for a few days (and yeah, it smells exactly as bad as you’d expect)! Female mosquitoes are attracted to the soup to lay their eggs. Then, a fan creates negative suction, pulling the mosquitoes up into the collection cup. We often find mosquitoes carrying diseases in these traps because they usually come from ones that have already had a blood meal. Since mosquitoes pick up diseases from the mammals they bite for blood, those in the trap are more likely to be infected.

Gravid trap set up in Sturbridge.

Watch out: perturbans on the rise

This week, we caught a lot of Coquillettidia perturbans. For context, compared to this time last year, we caught 900% more perturbans. Perturbans transmit EEE, and because we are catching so many of them, we expect it to be a big year for EEE.

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Final Week

This week has been extremely busy because we had 14 pools test positive for WNV across 10 towns. So, on top of our typical trapping routes, we also had to go back and trap at the sites that tested positive. We needed all hands on deck to trap this week in order to finish our regular routes and revisit the positive sites. Most of the positive samples were pooled from towns in the Northern route. Two of my towns ( in the Southern route) tested positive (Blackstone and Natick), so I went back to Blackstone to set a new trap (CDC and gravid) and our entomologist went to the my Natick site. This week, neighboring projects also have found their first cases of EEE in mosquitoes. So far this year, the neighboring projects have found viruses first and we follow, so if the pattern stays the same, we might also find EEE soon. This is my last week at CMMCP, and I’m definitely feeling a bit sad to say goodbye. It’s been a great experience, and I’ve learned so much over the season. ...

Week 9

West Nile Virus Positives This week, we had three West Nile Virus positive pools this week: in Blackstone, Natick, and Worcester. Blackstone and Natick are in my route, so I trapped the positive mosquitoes in those towns. It's a little scary knowing I was so close to mosquitoes with WNV. This positive case has also brought new meaning to my job as a trapper. I'm glad I was part of the team that caught these WNV cases and were able to help out the public. I think these positives will peak public curiosity and worry about mosquitoes, so I think I will have a lot more people come up and ask my questions. So, I'll make sure to brush up on my knowledge of WNV so that I can educate them and hopefully minimize their risk of contracting a vector-borne disease. Golden Anopheles Last week we found many mosquitoes uncommon to central Massachusetts in our traps. On Thursday, Audrey and I were processing mosquitoes when she noticed a very large, golden bug in her trap. We didn't k...

Week 10

New Traps This week I set two new kinds of traps: BG traps and Ovi traps. I set them both at a site in Blackstone that tested positive for WNV and caught an Asian tiger mosquito last week. We especially want to monitor the areas I set the BG and Ovi traps at the site that tested positive for WNV last week to increase surveillance. The BG trap doesn't catch many mosquitoes, but it has been the most effective at catching Asian Tiger mosquitoes. It attracts the mosquitoes with a BG lure, a stick that is supposed to smell like people (but to me it smells awful!). After the mosquitoes fly to the trap, they get sucked in by a fan and trapped in a net. Fortunately, I did not catch any Asian Tiger mosquitoes, so we are safe for now. Ovi traps are made to collect mosquito eggs. They are small black cups with a special paper inside that the eggs stick to after being laid. Processing Ovi traps takes about a months time. First, I have to set the traps - which is 6 cups at a time. ...

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