Data from: Comparative assessment of a novel fan box trap for collecting Anopheles farauti and culicine mosquitoes alive in tropical north Queensland, Australia

During preliminary mosquito surveys at Cowley Beach Training Area in north
Queensland, Australia, it was found that the utility of the standard
encephalitis virus surveillance (EVS) trap for collecting the malaria
vector Anopheles farauti (Laveran) adults was compromised by the
harsh tropical conditions. With the aim of increasing the survival rate of
mosquitoes, we designed a downdraft fan box trap (FBT) that incorporated a
screened fan at the bottom of the trap, so mosquitoes did not have to pass
through a fan. The FBT was tested against the EVS and Centers for Disease
Control (CDC) light traps, where mosquitoes do pass through a fan, and a
nonpowered passive box trap (PBT). We conducted four trials to compare the
quantity and survival of An. farauti and culicine mosquitoes were
collected in these traps. Although not significant, the FBT collected more
An. farauti than the EVS trap and PBT and significantly less An. farauti
than the CDC light trap. However, the FBT improved on the CDC light trap
in terms of the survival of An. farauti adults collected, with a
significantly higher percentage alive in the FBT (74.6%) than in the CDC
light trap (27.5%). Thus, although the FBT did not collect as many
anophelines as the CDC, it proved to be superior to current trap systems
for collecting large numbers of live and relatively undamaged mosquitoes.
Therefore, it is recommended that FBTs be used for collecting An. farauti
adults in northern Australia, especially when high survival and sample
quality are important.