A simple and efficient tool for trapping gravid Anopheles at breeding sites

BACKGROUND: No effective tool currently exists for trapping ovipositing malaria vectors. This creates a gap in our ability to investigate the behavior and ecology of gravid Anopheles. FINDINGS: Here we describe a simple trap that collects ovipositing Anopheline and Culicine mosquitoes. It consists of an acetate sheet coated in glue that floats on the water surface. Ten breeding sites were selected in rural Tanzania and 10 sticky traps set in each. These caught a total of 74 gravid Anopheles (54 An. arabiensis, 1 An. gambiae s.s. and 16 unamplified) and 1333 gravid Culicines, in just two trap nights. This simple sampling tool provides an opportunity to further our understanding of the behavior and ecology of gravid female Anophelines. It strongly implies that at least two of the major vectors of malaria in Africa land on the water surface during the oviposition process, and demonstrates that Anophelines and Culicines often share the same breeding sites. CONCLUSION: This simple and efficient trap has clear potential for the study of oviposition site choice and productivity, gravid dispersal, and vector control techniques which use oviposition behavior as a means of disseminating larvicides.