The impact of increasing resistance of mosquitoes to conventional pesticides has led to investigate various unique tools and pest control strategies. Herein, we assessed the potency of flupyradifurone, a novel pesticide, on fourth instar larvae of Culex quinquefasciatus Say. Further, we evaluated the synergistic action of piperonyl butoxide (PBO) and the octopamine receptor agonists (OR agonists) chlordimeform (CDM) and amitraz (AMZ) on the toxicity of flupyradifurone in comparison with sulfoxaflor and nitenpyram to increase their toxicity on Cx. quinquefasciatus. Results demonstrated that flupyradifurone was the most potent pesticide followed by sulfoxaflor and nitenpyram. Further, the synergetic effect of PBO, CDM, and AMZ was significant for all selected pesticides especially flupyradifurone. However, AMZ had the most significant effect in combination with the selected pesticides followed by CDM and PBO. The toxicity of the pesticides was time-dependent and increased over time from 24, 48, to 72 h of exposure in all experiments. The results indicate that flupyradifurone is a promising component in future mosquito control programs.

Aedes aegypti Linnaeus and Aedes albopictus Skuse are vectors of dengue virus and responsible for multiple autochthonous dengue outbreaks in Big Island, Hawai'i. Control of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus has been achieved in In2Care trap trials, which motivated us to investigate this potential control approach in the Big Island. Our In2Care trial was performed in the coastal settlement of Miloli'i in the southwest of Big Island where both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus are found. This trial starting in the second week of July and ending in the last week of October 2019 fell within the traditional wet season in Miloli'i. No significant reduction in egg or adult counts in our treatment areas following 12 wk of two In2Care trap placements per participating household were observed. In fact, an increase in numbers of adults during the trial reached levels that required the local mosquito abatement program to stop the In2Care trap trial and institute a thorough source reduction and treatment campaign. The source reduction campaign revealed a large variety and quantity of water sources competed with the oviposition cups we had placed, which likely lowered the chances of our oviposition cups being visited by pyriproxyfen-contaminated Aedes adults exiting the In2Care traps.

Aedes aegypti continues to spread globally and remains a challenge to control, in part due to its 'cryptic behavior' in that it often deposits eggs (oviposits) in larval habitats that are difficult to find and treat using traditional methods. Auto-dissemination strategies target these cryptic breeding sites by employing mosquitoes to deliver lethal doses of insecticide. This report describes the initial field trials of an application known as Autodissemination Augmented by Males (ADAM), utilizing A. aegypti males dusted with pyriproxyfen (PPF). Findings presented here are drawn from both caged and field trial studies. Together, these trials examined for the ability of A. aegypti males to disseminate PPF and to impact field populations. PPF-dusted males were able to effectively deliver lethal doses of PPF to oviposition sites under the conditions tested. Results from field trials in Florida and California demonstrated reduced A. aegypti populations in treated areas, compared to areas where PPF-treated males were not released. These results indicate that the release of PPF-dusted A. aegypti males can impact A. aegypti populations as measured by both reduced larval survival and lower numbers of adult female A. aegypti. We propose the ADAM approach as an addition to existing mosquito control techniques targeting A. aegypti and other mosquitoes that utilize cryptic larval habitats.