ASSESSING INSECTICIDE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF UNDERSTUDIED MOSQUITO SPECIES IN FLORIDA WITH CDC BOTTLE BIOASSAYS

Abstract

Insecticide resistance threatens the efficacy of mosquito control operations, however, resistance monitoring in the United States disproportionately focuses on a small number of key vector species. Here, CDC bottle bioassays were conducted against three active ingredients on multiple understudied species, including Aedes atlanticus, Aedes infirmatus, Aedes taeniorhynchus, Anopheles crucians, and Culex nigripalpus to determine population level baseline susceptibilities. While thorough analysis was constrained by the absence of established diagnostic times for these species, suspected resistance status was observed across most populations and species tested, while probable susceptibility was observed only in three populations. Notably, here we report the first observations of pyrethroid resistance within Ae. infirmatus and organophosphate resistance in the potential malaria vector, An. crucians. Results underscore the need for a broader inclusion of mosquito species in routine insecticide resistance monitoring.