Mosquito Species Prevalence and Temporal Variation at Bismarck, ND as part of a Statewide Project

There is high potential for climate changes to impact mosquito prevalence and associated diseases. UTTC began collecting mosquitos in 2024 as part of a statewide effort. The goals of the project are to determine temporal changes in occurrence and prevalence around Bismarck, ND, determine the vertebrate origin of blood meals, and compare our data to several other sites in the state. Mosquitos were trapped using Biogents BG Sentinel traps with 0.5kg/day of continuous CO2 flow and pheromone lure. Traps were placed in five locations selected based on access, privacy, security, and varying local habitat and were open four days/week from June 1 through August 15. The most common species across the project was Culex tarsalis. This species peaked in late July and is important because it is the only species that is a known vector of West Nile Virus. The abdomen of engorged mosquitos was excised and DNA will be extracted using a guanidine/ethanol protocol, then mitochondrial cytochrome b and oxidase subunit I genes will be amplified and sequenced. Sequences will be analyzed and aligned to published NCBI sequences using BLAST. Next steps on the project will be to complete DNA analysis and analyze samples for viral and parasite load and compare our data to other sites in the state.