ABSTRACT The circulation of arboviruses throughout the world and the maintenance of lymphatic filariasis endemicity in tropical countries, combined with the lack of vaccines and specific treatments, highlight the importance of reducing the populations of mosquitoes involved in the transmission of these pathogens, Aedes aegypti and Culex quinquefasciatus. To contribute to the development of new strategies for monitoring and controlling these culicids, we evaluated the performance of the Double BR-OVT trap individually and in pairs, in the field. After 18 months, the Double BR-OVT traps captured a mean of 3.5 ± 7.4 and 1.8 ± 3.2 of Culex and Aedes /residence/cycle, respectively, in addition to 410 ± 588.3 Aedes eggs/residence/cycle. When installed in pairs, the Double BR-OVT traps collected three times more adult mosquitoes of C. quinquefasciatus (9.4 ± 8.3 Culex /residence/bimester) and two times more Aedes spp. (3 ± 3.2 Aedes /residence/bimester) in comparison with the traps installed individually (2.6 ± 7.1 and 1.5 ± 3.2 Culex and Aedes /residence/bimester, respectively) (p < 0.05). The Double BR-OVT trap has an exceptional advantage: it aggregates different functionalities into a single instrument, as this type of trap can concomitantly collect eggs and adult mosquitoes of C. quinquefasciatus and A. aegypti , a feature that makes it a potentially useful tool among the strategies for monitoring and controlling these mosquitoes.

BACKGROUND Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the most important arbovirus vectors in the world. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to investigate and compare the infestation pattern of these species in a neighbourhood of Recife, Brazil, endemic for arboviruses in 2005 (T1) and 2013 (T2). METHODS Infestation, distribution and relative abundance of these sympatric species were recorded by egg collection using a network of 59 sentinel ovitraps (s-ovt) at fixed sampling stations for 12 months in T1 and T2. FINDINGS A permanent occupation pattern was detected which was characterised by the presence of egg-laying females of one or both species with a high ovitrap positivity index (94.3 to 100%) throughout both years analysed. In terms of abundance, the total of eggs collected was lower (p < 0.005) in T2 (146,153) than in T1 (281,103), although ovitraps still displayed a high index of positivity. The spatial distribution showed the presence of both species in 65.1% of the 148 s-ovt assessed, while a smaller number of traps exclusively contained Ae. aegypti (22%) or Ae. albopictus (13.2%) eggs. MAIN CONCLUSIONS Our comparative analysis demonstrated the robustness of the spatial occupation and permanence of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus populations in this endemic urban area.

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Culex quinquefasciatus is a mosquito of importance to public health, as it represents a real and/or potential risk for the transmission of pathogens to humans, such as some arthropod-borne viruses and nematodes that cause filariasis. In Brazil, three municipalities in the Metropolitan Region of Recife (RMR) that are endemic for lymphatic filariasis conducted control actions targeting this vector. With the goal of contributing novel C. quinquefasciatus collection strategies, a sticky trap capable of collecting eggs and imprisoning mosquitoes was investigated. METHODS: To evaluate the performance of the sticky BR-OVT trap, tests were carried out in the neighborhoods of Caixa d’Água and Passarinho (Olinda-PE-Brasil) between August 2011 and June 2012. Sixty traps were installed in the indoor areas of residences in the two districts. RESULTS: During the 11-month study, 0.52 [standard deviation (SD) = 1.52] Culex egg rafts, 2.16 (SD = 4.78) C. quinquefasciatus/trap/month, and 0.55 (SD = 1.28) Aedes/trap/month were caught. Female specimens predominated the traps (59% of C. quinquefasciatus and 96% of Aedes spp.). CONCLUSIONS The results demonstrated that the sticky BR-OVT trap is a useful tool for the collection of adult culicids of medical importance and offers an innovative way to collect C. quinquefasciatus eggs and adults in a single trap.