The efficacy of different mosquito trapping methods in a forest-fringe village, Yunnan Province, Southern China.

Despite a control program, malaria incidence in Yunnan has increased and knowledge of vector bionomics is needed for efficient control. Multi-drug resistant Plasmodium falciparum necessitates alternatives to human landing catches as a means of studying vectors. Therefore CDC light traps with UV or ordinary incandescent bulbs were tested for 57 trap nights. 2,703 mosquitos were caught, including the vector species An. minimus and An. sinensis and the suspected vector An. maculatus. Larval An. dirus were found around the village but no adults were trapped. UV light traps caught more mosquitos than the traps with incandescent bulbs, but caught many insects other than mosquitos requiring time-consuming separation, and were unpopular with villagers. Traps placed in living areas of houses caught more mosquitos than those placed beside bednets and the catch mainly comprised species that were active in the early evening. Encephalitis Vector Surveillance (EVS) traps hung outdoors and baited with CO2 caught few mosquitos. CDC traps in the same position baited with CO2 or lactic acid caught large numbers of Culex tritaeniorhynchus. Indoor spray catches recovered human fed An. vagus and An. minimus. This work confirmed that CDC light traps could be used to trap local vectors, and the abundance of early active mosquitos in the living area suggests that personal protection measures may be required in the evening, to supplement bed net use.