Responses of mosquitoes of the Anopheles farauti complex to 1-octen-3-ol and light in combination with carbon dioxide in northern Queensland, Australia.

In northern Queensland, Australia, three experiments were conducted to determine the response of mosquitoes of the Anopheles farauti complex to CDC traps baited with four attractant combinations: octenol + CO2 and light; octenol and light; CO2 and light; or CO2 and octenol without light. A CDC-modified updraft light-trap was also trialled, but did not significantly enhance collections of An.farauti sensu lato. The combination of light, octenol and CO2 caught significantly more An.farauti s.l. (both An.farauti No.1 and No.2 sibling species) when compared to CO2 and light alone. Only small numbers of the An.farauti complex were captured when CDC traps were baited with octenol alone, i.e. no light or CO2.