Assessing the Effectiveness of Qista Baited Traps in Capturing Mosquito Vectors of Diseases in the Camargue Region (France) and Investigating Their Diversity

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Mosquitoes are responsible for causing various disturbances, such as nuisance, allergies, and acting as the vectors of deadly diseases for humans and animals. To combat this confirmed vector, various strategies are implemented. One such strategy is the use of the Qista trap (also known as the Borne-Anti-Moustique: BAM), which employs a CO(2) and lure emitting mechanism to bait mosquitoes. In this study, six BAMs were deployed to assess their effectiveness in reducing the nuisance rate caused by mosquitoes. The traps were able to capture 84,461 mosquitoes from eleven different species over a period of six months. The average capture rate per trap was 76.92 mosquitoes per day. The survey indicated a significant reduction in nuisance rates in the protected area compared to the control area. The Qista BAM trap appears to be a promising tool for mosquito control and to update the biodiversity of mosquito seeking species in the south of France. ABSTRACT: Nuisance, allergy, and vector role: mosquitoes are responsible for numerous inconveniences. Several strategies have been employed to fight against this confirmed vector. To record the diversity of mosquito vectors in Camargue (France) and assess the effectiveness of the Qista trap, six BAMs were deployed as a belt barrier to protect the Espeyran Castle (Saint-Gilles, Camargue). Prior to evaluating the reduction in the nuisance rate, recovery nets from the traps and human landing catches (HLC) were utilized twice a week in the treated and control areas. Overall, 85,600 mosquitoes were captured, belonging to eleven species, namely Aedes albopictus, Aedes caspius, Aedes detritus, Aedes dorsalis, Aedes rossicus, Aedes vexans, Anopheles maculipennis, Culex pipiens, Culex modestus, Culiseta annulata and Culiseta longiareolata. The six BAM devices trapped 84,461 mosquitoes. The average capture rate per BAM is 76.92 mosquitoes per day. The rate of nuisance has decreased from 4.33 ± 2.88 before the deployment to 1.59 ± 2.77 after BAM implantation. The Qista BAM trap seems to be an excellent tool for reducing the nuisance rate and may help researchers to optimize trapping methods by obtaining more significant sample sizes. It may also allow the updating of the host-seeking mosquito species’ reported biodiversity in the south of France.