Evaluation of a new technique for recording the direction of flight of mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in the field

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Abstract
In a study in the Gambia on the relationship between wind direction and the direction of flight of mosquitoes, high-voltage electric grids were used as screens in conjunction with suction traps. Mosquitoes contacting or attempting to fly through the grids were electrocuted. The screening efficiency of the grids was estimated to be 75–80%, and the grids had no demonstrable effect on wind speed. The traps were set up in pairs with their mouths at ground level, one trap in each pair being screened on the upwind and the other on the downwind side. In this way, the mosquitoes could be segregated into those that were flying predominantly upwind and predominantly downwind, respectively. The results indicated that some 64% were flying upwind at this level, but this proportion varied considerably over a period of days, with nightly extremes of 87 and 43%; there was little difference between species. This variation was not correlated with wind speed, but there was some evidence that the presence of moonlight led to a greater degree of upwind flight.