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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Mosquito and Fly Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #274164
Title: Aspirator Gun for High-Throughput Mosquito Bioassays

Author
item Aldridge, Robert
item WYNN, WAYNE - Retired ARS Employee
item Gibson, Seth
item Linthicum, Kenneth - Ken

Submitted to: Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/1/2012
Publication Date: 3/1/2012
Citation: Aldridge, R.L., Wynn, W.W., Britch, S.C., Linthicum, K. 2012. Aspirator Gun for High-Throughput Mosquito Bioassays. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association. 28(1):65-68.

Interpretive Summary: A suction device has been developed to transfer exact numbers of adult mosquitoes into glass experimental tubes without damage or injury to the insects. The mosquitoes are exposed to materials treated with pesticides in the tubes to evaluate their killing affect. The electronically powered suction device is easily constructed using readily available materials and can be adapted to accommodate a wide range of insects. The device substantially improves upon manual transfer techniques with regard to speed, repeatability, and operator safety. Laboratory trials with the device have successfully transferred thousands of mosquitoes with less than 0.01 % mortality.

Technical Abstract: We describe an innovative aspirator gun designed to transfer anaesthetized mosquitoes directly into glass bioassay tubes. The gun has been used for thousands of transfers with extremely low associated mortality and is the central component of a high-throughput bioassay system. The gun is constructed using readily obtainable materials and can be modified for a range of insects.