Examining Parameters of Vectorial Capacity for Mosquitoes Associated with Stormwater Catch Basins in Corvallis, Oregon

This research examines two of parameters of vectorial capacity for mosquitoes associated with catch basins in Corvallis, Oregon. The parameters of interest were determining (1) abundance of the mosquito species associated with the catch basins, and (2) feeding patterns of local mosquito species. Three species of mosquitoes were collected from Corvallis catch basins: Culex pipiens L., Culex stigmatosoma Dyar, and Culiseta incidens (Thomson). Over 32 weeks of sampling 60 catch basins in Corvallis in 2004, a total of 1,920 catch basin visits were made and 79,760 immature mosquitoes were collected. Emerging mosquitoes were collected from 20 catch basins in southern Corvallis for 22 days in August 2006 and from 20 catch basins in northern Corvallis for 20 days in September 2006. Based on the numbers of mosquitoes collected from the 20 catch basins sampled, an estimated 138,484 female Cx. pipiens emerged from the all of the catch basins in the southern area and 84,432 emerged from the northern catch basins. Molecular analysis of the bloodmeals from Cx. pipiens, Cx. stigmatosoma, and Cs. incidens collected in Corvallis parks and greenspaces found that the two Culex spp. fed primarily on avian hosts and Cs. incidens fed primarily on mammalian hosts. Based on the abundance and host feeding pattern data collected, all three mosquitoes could be involved in epizootic and epidemic transmission of mosquito-borne encephalitis, including West Nile virus, in Corvallis, if the virus were present.