Mosquito Surveillance Program Using Ovitraps Detected Aedes aegypti at the Honolulu International Airport in 2012

Abstract

mosquito surveillance program using ovitraps at the Honolulu In- ternational Airport (HIA), Hawaii, USA May 2010 to June 2012 revealed that A. albopictus egg counts fluctuated over time during the surveillance program and the highest oviposition was observed from February to May 2011 and the lowest was from September to November 2011. Positive correlations found between a given week’s rainfall and egg counts 1 and 2 weeks later suggested that rainfall triggered the hatching of eggs which were laid before the rainfall, rather than di- rectly stimulating adult oviposition. In January and June 2012, Aedes aegypti was discovered from a small vegetated area located between terminals for out-of-state and within-state flights. This species had not been confirmed present on Oahu at least since 1948. This finding has led us to intensify our surveillance program at the airport, with the hope that we would improve our understanding of the nature of mosquito introductions at this important port of entry for the Hawaiian Islands.