Survival of insects in the wheel bays of a Boeing 747B aircraft on flights between tropical and temperate airports.

Mosquitos (Culex quinquefasciatus), house flies (Musca domestica), and flour beetles (Tribolium confusum) located in cages within the wheel bays of a Boeing 747B aircraft, survived travel on the following normal commercial routes: Sydney-Melbourne; Melbourne-Singapore; Singapore-Bangkok; Bangkok-Singapore; and Singapore-Melbourne. Survival of all three species was high, averaging 84% for mosquitos and higher for flies (93%) and beetles (>99%). Although external temperatures were -42 degrees C to -54 degrees C for aircraft cruising at 10 700-11 900 m, minimum temperatures within the wheel bays ranged from +8 degrees C to +25 degrees C.