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Tick-borne diseases are emerging globally, necessitating increased research and coordination of tick surveillance practices. The most widely used technique for active collection of host-seeking, human-biting tick vectors is ‘tick dragging’, by which a cloth is dragged across the top of the vegetation or forest floor and regularly checked for the presence of ticks. Use of variable dragging protocols limits the ability of researchers to combine data sets for comparative analyses or determine patterns and trends across different spatial and temporal scales. Standardization of tick drag collection and reporting methodology will greatly benefit the field of tick-pathogen studies. Based on the recommendations of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and other ecological considerations, we propose that tick dragging should be conducted to sample at least 750 m2 along linear transects when habitat allows in a manner that reduces bias in the sampled area, and report density of each tick species and life stage separately. A protocol for constructing a standard drag cloth, establishing linear transects, and drag sampling is presented, along with a downloadable datasheet that can be modified to suit the needs of different projects. Efforts to align tick surveillance according to these standard best practices will help generate robust data on tick population biology.

Veterinary and medical entomologists who are involved in research on pest control often need to perform dose–response bioassays and analyze the results. This article is meant as a beginner’s guide for doing this and includes instructions for using the free program R for the analyses. The bioassays and analyses are described using previously unpublished data from bioassays on house flies, Musca domestica Linnaeus (Diptera: Muscidae), but can be used on a wide range of pest species. Flies were exposed topically to beta-cyfluthrin, a pyrethroid, or exposed to spinosad or spinetoram in sugar to encourage consumption. LD50 values for beta-cyfluthrin in a susceptible strain were similar regardless of whether mortality was assessed at 24 or 48 h, consistent with it being a relatively quick-acting insecticide. Based on LC50 values, spinetoram was about twice as toxic as spinosad in a susceptible strain, suggesting a benefit to formulating spinetoram for house fly control, although spinetoram was no more toxic than spinosad for a pyrethroid-resistant strain. Results were consistent with previous reports of spinosad exhibiting little cross-resistance. For both spinosad and spinetoram, LC50 values were not greatly different between the pyrethroid-resistant strain and the susceptible strain.

Arthropods pests are most frequently associated with both plants and vertebrate animals. Ticks, in particular the blacklegged ticks Ixodes scapularis Say and Ixodes pacificus Cooley & Kohls (Acari: Ixodidae), are associated with wildlife hosts and are the primary vectors of Lyme disease, the most frequently reported vector-borne disease in the United States. Immature blacklegged ticks in the eastern United States frequently use small mammals from the genus Peromyscus as hosts. These mice are competent reservoirs for Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, as well as other tick-borne pathogens. To conduct surveillance on immature ticks and pathogen circulation in hosts, capture and handling of these small mammals is required. While protocols for rearing and pest surveillance on plants are common, there are very few protocols aimed at entomologists to conduct research on vertebrate–arthropod relationships. The goal of this manuscript is to provide a practical template for trapping Peromyscus spp. for vector and vector-borne pathogen surveillance and ecology for professionals that may not have a background in wildlife research. Important considerations are highlighted when targeting P. leucopus Rafinesque and P. maniculatus Wagner. Specifically, for tick and tick-borne disease-related projects, materials that may be required are suggested and references and other resources for researchers beginning a trapping study are provided.

Developing sampling programs for Culicoides can be challenging due to variation in ecology and behavior of the numerous species as well as their broad distributions and habitats. In this paper, we emphasize the need to clearly define research goals to select appropriate sampling methods. This includes not just the choice of sampling device, but also choice of attractant, site, number of traps per site, the duration and frequency of sampling, and the number of traps per unit area. Animal-baited trapping using enclosure traps and direct animal aspiration is more labor-intensive but yields information on species attracted to specific hosts as well as their biting rates. Sampling immatures is discussed with respect to choosing collection sites in semiaquatic mud, soil, and rich organic habitats. Sorting and extracting larvae using emergence traps, flotation, and Berlese funnels is also discussed.

Deer keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae: Lipoptena Nitzsch, 1818 and Neolipoptena Bequaert, 1942) are blood-feeding ectoparasites that primarily attack cervids and occasionally bite humans, while ticks may be found on cervids, but are more generalized in host choice. Recent detection of pathogens such as Anaplasma and Borrelia in deer keds and historical infections of tick-borne diseases provides reason to investigate these ectoparasites as vectors. However, previous methods employed to sample deer keds and ticks vary, making it difficult to standardize and compare ectoparasite burdens on cervids. Therefore, we propose a standardized protocol to collect deer keds and ticks from hunter-harvested deer, which combines previous methods of sampling, including timing of collections, dividing sections of the deer, and materials used in the collection process. We tested a three-section and a five-section sampling scheme in 2018 and 2019, respectively, and found that dividing the deer body into five sections provided more specificity in identifying where deer keds and ticks may be found on deer. Data from 2018 suggested that deer keds and ticks were found on all three sections (head, anterior, posterior), while data from 2019 suggested that more Ixodes scapularis were found on the head and deer keds were found on all body sections (head, dorsal anterior, dorsal posterior, ventral anterior, and ventral posterior). The protocol provides an efficient way to sample deer for deer keds and ticks and allows researchers to compare ectoparasite burdens across geographical regions. Furthermore, this protocol can be used to collect other ectoparasites from deer or other cervids.

Mark-recapture techniques have been widely used and specialized to study organisms throughout the field of biology. To mark-recapture ticks (Ixodida), we have created a simple method to mark ticks using nail polish applied with an insect pin secured in a pencil that allows for a variety of questions to be answered. For measuring tick control efficacy, estimating population estimates, or measuring movement of ticks, this inexpensive mark-recapture method has been easily applied in the field and in the lab to provide useful data to answer a variety of questions about ticks.

Container mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) oviposit their eggs in both natural and artificial containers. Many container mosquito species also serve as important vectors of disease-causing pathogens including Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, and Ae. triseriatus. Control of these species can be done through the use of adulticide sprays. The efficacy of these treatments is highly dependent on the insecticide susceptibility status of the local mosquito populations. This paper provides protocols on collecting and rearing container mosquitoes for use in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) bottle bioassay. A brief description of the CDC bottle bioassay is provided as well as a standardized protocol for the incorporation of a 24-h mortality to the CDC bottle bioassay. Results from this 24-h holding addition to the CDC bottle bioassay reveal that some forms of resistance may be missed without the incorporation of the additional mortality reading. These protocols provide a foundation for new laboratories to establish rearing protocols and begin conducting resistance monitoring.

The horn fly, Haematobia irritans L. (Diptera: Muscidae), is a persistent pest of cattle globally. A threshold of 200 flies per animal is considered the standard management goal; however, determining when that threshold has been exceeded is difficult using visual estimates that tend to overestimate the actual fly densities and are, at best, subjective. As a result, a more reliable and durable method of determining horn fly densities is needed. Here, we describe the methods commonly used to quantify horn fly densities including visual estimates and digital photography, and provide examples of quantification software and the prospect for computer automation methods.

The two most economically important poultry ectoparasites are the northern fowl mite, Ornithonyssus sylviarum (Canestrini and Fanzago), and the poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae (De Geer). Both mites are obligate blood feeders but differ in where they reside. Sampling methods thus focus on-host, especially the vent feathers, for northern fowl mite and off-host, especially cracks and crevices near the nighttime roosting areas, for poultry red mite. Much remains unknown, however, about the basic biology and ecology of both mites. Here we discuss mite detection, quantification, and decision making and provide thoughts on future directions for research.

Monitoring house fly (Diptera: Muscidae) activity on animal facilities is a necessary component of an integrated pest management (IPM) program to reduce the negative impacts of these flies. This article describes monitoring methods appropriate for use on animal facilities with discussion of monitoring device use and placement. Action thresholds are presented where these have been suggested by researchers. Sampling precision is an important aspect of a monitoring program, and the number of monitoring devices needed to detect a doubling of fly activity is presented for monitoring methods where this information is available. It should be noted that both action thresholds and numbers of monitoring devices will be different for every animal facility. Suggested action thresholds and numbers of monitoring devices are presented only to provide guidance when initiating a fly monitoring program. Facility managers can adjust these values based upon the fly activity data recorded at their facility. Spot cards are generally recommended as an easy-to-use method for monitoring fly activity for most animal facilities. Fly ribbons or similar sticky devices are recommended where several pest fly species may be abundant and identifying the activity of each species is important, but a sampling period of <7 d may be needed in dusty conditions or when fly density is high. Fly ribbons are not recommended for outdoor use. Insecticide-baited traps may be used in outdoor locations where environmental conditions limit the use of spot cards, fly ribbons, and sticky traps.