Effects of cattle density on New Jersey light trap mosquito captures in the rice/cattle agroecosystem of southwestern Louisiana.

Cattle are the primary host for the major pest mosquito Psorophora columbiae in the rice production region of the Gulf-south. Annual captures of Ps. columbiae, Anopheles crucians and An. quadrimaculatus in New Jersey light traps in Acadia Parish in 1984 were correlated with cattle density within 0.8 km of the trap (R2 = 97, 68 and 74%, respectively). Furthermore, 7 of 10 mosquito species commonly trapped were significantly correlated with cattle density (average R2 = 82%). This work documents host abundance as a key factor in the population dynamics and distribution of most of the important riceland mosquitoes.