PUBLIC HEALTH Calibration and Evaluation of Field Cage for Oviposition Study with Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti Female (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae)

ABSTRACT- Differences among results gathered from insect behavior studies conducted in laboratory and fi eld situations are due to ambient variables that differ greatly between both environments. In laboratory studies the environmental conditions can be controlled whereas in fi eld temperature, humidity and air velocity vary uncontrollably. The objective of this study was to calibrate and evaluate an experimental area (fi eld cage) (14 x 7 x 3.5 m) subdivided into eight test cages (2.5 x 2.5 x 2 m) for use in behavioral oviposition tests of Aedes aegypti (L.) mosquitoes for developing a new methodology to assess attractants and oviposition traps. Test cage calibration involved: (1) minimal experiment duration tests; (2) optimal female release number per traps test and (3) trap placement tests. All tests used gravid A. aegypti females; 3-4 days post blood meal and the sticky trap MosquiTRAP ® to catch adults. Ninety percent of the females released were recaptured 2h after the beginning of the experiment, and this allowed up to 32 test repetitions/day to be conducted in the fi eld cage. The minimum number of females necessary to conduct statistical analyses was 20 females/trap/test per cage. No signifi cant difference was found in the behavioral response of gravid females to four different trap positions within test cages. Field trapping results with attractant were similar to those in the fi eld cage. Therefore, the fi eld cage could replace fi eld trapping for evaluating at least mosquito traps and oviposition attractant