of the Florida Mosquito Control Associationwingbeats.floridamosquito.org/Wingbeats/pdfs/Vol8No4.pdf · 2014. 4. 11. · PO Box 60005 Fort Myers. FL 33906 Editor-in-Chief Dennis Moore,

of the Florida Mosquito Control Association = -

Volume 8 Number 4 Winter 1997

A new way to go over a swamp or marsh

without going over a budget Lets face it youve got a lot of

land to cover Too bad theres not a lot of budget Thats where the newest Altosidreg formulation comes in

Altosid XRG is an extended residual granular thats ideal for cost-effective aerial applications over large tracts

of land Like all Altosid formulations it effectively targets mosquitoes in their second third and fourth larval

instars By interfering with normal metamorphoses Altosid prevents mosquitoes

from emerging as biting breeding adults-all without upsetting the food chain

or impacting ron-target species To learn more about Altosid XRG or other

Altosid formulations call 1-800-248-7763

~Aitasidreg Always read and follow label directions Wellmark International Bensenville IL Altosid is a trademark ofWellmark International copy1998 Well mark International

PO Box 60005 Fort Myers FL 33906

Editor-in-Chief Dennis Moore F011 M yers FL voice 94 1-694-2174 fax 94 1-694-6959

15191 Homestead Rd Lehigh FL 33971

e-mail mooredmaildmsstateflus

Managing Editor Charlie Monis Vero Beach FL 561-778-7204 (voice or fax)

Associate Editors Stan Cope Norfolk VA Betsy Field Vera Beach FL John Gamble New Smyrna Beach FL

Graphics Charlie MorTis Vera Beach FL Alan Cuttis Vera Beach FL Jeremiah Jenner Vera Beach FL

Column Editors Chemline middotDoug Wassmer Odessa FL Chip Chat- Tom Floore Panama City FL Crankcase Eddie- Ed Meehan Mound MN

Regional Editors Massachusetts - Timothy D Deschamps Norwood Michigan - Thomas R Wilmot Sanford New Jersey- William C Reinert Northfie ld Texas - Dan Sprenger Corpus Christi Utah- G lenn Collett Salt Lake City

Editorial Review Board Alan Curti s Vera Beach FL David Dame Gainesvi lle FL Gerry Hutney Tampa FL L Philip Lounibos Vera Beach FL

Florida Mosquito Control Association Shelly Redovan Executive Director PO Box60837 Fort Myers FL 33906-0837 voice 941-694-2174 fax 941-433-5684

FMCA 1996-1997 Board of Directors President

G Alan Curtis Vero Beach FL President-e lect

David Danle Gainesvil le FL Vice- President

Joseph P Ruff Panama City FL Immediate Past President

W Gene Baker Tallahassee FL Northwest Regional Representative

Margaret Crawford Sa nta Rosa Beach FL Northeast Regional Representative

Bob Betts St Augusti ne FL Southwest Regional Representative

Mark Latham Palmelo FL Southeast Regional Representative

Gregory Scott Key West FL Member-at-Large

Pete Pederson Sanford FL

of the Florida Mosquito Control Association Volume 8 Number 4 Winter 1997

A Closed Transfer System for Loading Insecticide Containers 4 by r~ 71~ flamu N~ amp p 8eUttu amp v~ e~

Feature Catch Basin Larviciding Cool Running B by 7~ A~ Pud 9~ amp Jbt4 S~

From a Distance Integrated Mosquito Management in Mexico 1 0 by Df- I~ 2eWwf ~

Pest Asides So What Good Are Mosquitoes Anyway 11 by Pa-t Date Pk D

Viewpoint EPA Exceeds Its Authority 13 reprint from FloridAgriculture

Crankcase Eddie What is Your LD50

14 by ampd 1(~

Pest Asides Mosquito Enterprise 17 byS~S~

Using a Scanner to Make a Mosquito Reference Collection 20 by flok s~ vltUV~ 1fJM4Wt amp fiffl-~~

Field Forum Truls Jensens Biosynopsis of Aedes melanimon 23

Lines of Flight DGPS 24 by 1tidad s~

TerMin-BR IBG Larvicide Label 25 byS~S~

UU~ lSeau Published quarterly by the Fl orida Mosquito Control Association This magazine is intended to keep all

in terested parties informed on malers as they relate to mosqu ito con trol particularly in the United States All rights reserved Reproduction in whole or part for educational purposes is permitted without permiss ion with proper c itation The Flori da Mosquito Control Association has not tested any of the products advertised or referred to in this publication nor has it verified any of the statements made in any of the advertisements or articles The FMCA does not wa rrant expressly or implied the fitness of any product advertised or the su itability of any advice or statements contained herein Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily the opinions or policies of the Florida Mosquito Control Association

Subscriptions U~ lSeaU is sent free of charge to anyone within the continental United States Subscriptions are

available for the cost of first class postage to any foreign address at the following rates Europe UK and Australia US$20 Canada US$6 South America US$1 0 Make checks and purchase orders payable to the Florida Mosquito Control Associat ion and send to FMCA PO Box 60837 Fort Myers FL 33906-0837

Correspondence Address all correspondence regarding U~ lSeaU to the Editor-in-Chief Den nis Moore PO Box

60005 Fort Myers FL 33906 Readers are invited to submit articles rela ted to mosquito and biting fly biology and control or letters to the Editors to the Editor-in-Chief There is no charge if your article or letter is printed Photographers and artists are invited to submit color transparencies or high quali ty original artwork or artwork in e lectronic format (CGM) for possible use in the magazine or on the cover $100 will be paid for each cover photo Businesses are invited to place adverti sements thro ugh the Editor-in-Chief

About the Cover A graphics scan (600 dpi) of a Toxorhynchites mlilus by John Schaediger Story o n page 20

Chemline A Closed ttaUftr SVSteta fOr bullbullbullbullbullbull bullbullbullbullbullbullbull IOadiugbrsecticicle middot Coltaiurs middot middotmiddot middot middot

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Loading Insecticide Containers

Baytex (fenthion) has a long and successful history of use in the United States as a mosquito adulticide In the late 1980s Baytex was removed from the marshyket because of costs associated with relabeling in the US In 1992 Baytex received an EPA label alshylowing for its use as a mosquito adulticide only in Florida With this relabeling Baytex was designated a Restricted Use insecticide with more stringent handling requireshyments included on the new label

Baytex is the Indian River Mosquito Control Districts insectishycide of choice for ground adulticiding In order to address the label requirements for handling Baytex while minimizing the amount of safety equipment reshyquired for an employee we develshyoped a closed system for transfershyring liquid adulticides from their storage drum to a container used for ULV applications This closed system efficiently transfers insectishycide virtually eliminates the possishybility of spillage while still providshying for worker safety

Baytex Label Safety Equipment Requirements

Unless a closed transfer sysshytem is used when handling Baytex the current label requires that the

4 Winter 1997

technician must wear 1) a protecshytive suit of one or two parts that cover all of the body except head hands and feet 2) chemical resisshytant gloves 3) chemical resistant shoes or shoe coverings 4) a chemical resistant apron and 5) a National Institute of Occupational Safety amp Health (NIOSH) or Mine Safety amp Health Act (MSHA) apshyproved respiratory device Also goggles or a face shield are reshyquired if the system is pressurized However if a closed transfer sysshytem is used two safety equipment requirements are reduced a respishyrator is no longer required and inshystead of requiring a protective suit a long sleeve shirt and long-legged pants can be worn These reduced

Aeroquip FD-49 Female Connector __-

requirements provide greater worker comfort during the hot sumshymer months

Key Components of the Closed System

Special hydraulic fittings (Aeroquip Model FD49 purchased from Hydraulic Supply Co) are the key to the safety and ease of use of the closed system ( Figure 1 ) These hydraulic fittings are a dripless-type fitting with sealed shutshyoff valves built into the male and feshymale connectors In this application dripless means there is zero clearshyance between the male and female components thus no liquid is trapped between the fittings

I Aeroquip FD-49

Male Connector

~ 112 NPT Bronze Elbow

33 liquid Propane Aluminum Cylinder

~ 318 Copper Tubing

Figure 1 Cross-Section of Fittings and Container

continued on page 6

DIBROMreg Concentrate provides fast consistent knockdown of adult mosquitoes

DIBROM Concentrate will effectively control your large-area mosquito problems whether its residential areas and municishypalities tidal marshes swamps and woodshylands or livestock pastures and feedlots

DIBROM is a fast-acting short residual

organophosphate insecticide that is proven effective against the most tolerant and resistant strains of mosquitoes

By using DIBROM as labeled you wont affect fish Wildlife or livestock so its environmentally compatible It can easily be applied by ground or air and its low application rate gives significantly more coverage per tankload

If youre looking for a solution to largeshyarea mosquito control look to DIBROM Concentrate Make sure they never get off the ground again

DIBROMreg CONCENTRATE Nwrrts read and loiiOY~ label direcllOOS DIBROi is a registered llademark ol Valent USA Coiporallon copy 1996 Valent USA Corp

VALENT

-~ y

continued from page 4 During the first season of use

the original Buna-Nitrile rubber seals within the female component which were made of Buna-Nitrile rubber began to deteriorate These were replaced with VITON seals (purshychased from McMaster-Carr and Co) which have shown no signs of deterioration after two full seasons of use

Also of importance to the systems efficiency are lightweight aluminum (33 lb liquid propane) bottles that hold the insecticide on the spray trucks These containshyers which were purchased from Tempaco will hold enough mateshyrial to treat 1 200 acres at the maxishymum label rate A series of bronze pipe fittings are used to feed and vent the tank with a single orifice in its top (Figure 2) A 34 in NPT tee fitting with a 38 in copper tube proshytrudes down to the containers botshytom This is both a fill and draw tube The same tee fitting has a Y2 in NPT

FLOW

[middotmiddotmiddot SEALED CARRIER

ON SCALE

side to it with a Y2 in NPT street elbow that vents air back to the 55 gallon insecticide drum During fillshying insecticide vapors do not vent to the atmosphere However during a spray operation the bottles vent tube is connected to the compressors air intake breather and thus draws up and disperses any vapors that develop as part of the ULV spray

Closed System Summary

A simple walk-through of the system demonstrates its function The Baytex is first drawn out of a 55 gallon drum through a fine mesh filter by a simple gear pump From the purnp the chemical is pushed into the aluminum container on the truck While the chemical is entershying the container air venting from the aluminum container is returned to the 55 gallon drum

FLOW

OPV

PUMP

RETURN

As seen in Figure 2 a 10 psi by-pass valve is used as a pressure safety mechanism We fill containshyers by weight rather than volume During filling to a prescribed weight a microswitch automatically shuts off the pump when the correct weight is attained When the conshytainer is full the technician reshyleases the hydraulic connectors places the container on the ULV truck and connects the ULV equipshyment to the insecticide container

This closed transfer system was reviewed by Floridas Departshyment of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the EPA who detershymined that it meets the criteria for a closed system

bullthe jlllthmiddotmiddotors ar~ e~ploy~shymiddotees of the Indian River Mosqui~oControl _ igtistrict

middot P oBox 670 Vero Beachf middot middot FL 32961 ~0670 middot middot

- _

STORAGE DRUM

Figure 2 Schematic of Entire Closed System

6 Winter 1997

PURE AND SIMPLE Pump FYFANON ULV directly from our drum to your tank Ir goes in undiluted - eliminates the potential for costly mixing errors and reduces employee chemical exposure In the new returnable refillable container FYFANON also eliminates triple rinsing and container disposal -What could be easier

Todays FYFANON ULV is berter than ever- 96-98 pure and less acutely toxic than resmethrin permethrin fenthion or naled

FYFANON saves you time money and labor Do the math and youll see- FYFANON covers more acres for fewer dollars than any competing product

Ql CHEMINOVA Better Cheminova Inc bull middot 1700 Route 23 bull Suite 210 bull Wayne New Jersey 07470 bull 800-548-6113

Catch basins can be a signifishycant source of Culex mosquitoes and as such are larvicided whenshyever more than 25 of basins conshytain larvae

We started treating catch bashysins in Saginaw County Michigan by scooping granular larvicide from coffee cans Then we got sophistishycated using a container with a crank which would dispense a given amount of granular larviciding mashyterial through a tube into the catch basin Eventually we used Hudson sprayers to dispense liquid Dursban

These techniques have limitashytions They are slow treatment routes had to be walked and the equipment was heavy In general technicians found the process to be a real chore bordering on punishshyment

In the summer of 1994 we ran a pilot program using a Yamaha Riva moped outfitted for catch bashysin larviciding using liquid in a five

8 Winter 1997

gallon container We could treat apshyproximately twice as many catch basins in a given time with considshyerably less fatigue

We increased our moped fleet to ten for the 1995 season In the three years prior to 1995 we avershyaged approximately 33000 catch basin treatments per year in 1995 the figure was over 80000

Since mopeds can be dangershyous to operate we incorporated sevshyeral safety elements into our pro-

gram Technicians are required to wear a helmet (not required by Michigan law) and a highly visable reflective vest Each moped is equipped with a flourescent pennant and with a two-way radio Operashytors are required to pass written and road tests before they are allowed to use this vehicle

In the first year of operation our fleet accumulated more than 16000 miles without a major accishydent Mopeds were easily transshyported on custom designed racks on trailers for use in outlying areas

We further refined our fleet for the 1996 season We added elecshytronic counters with LCD readouts that allow us to monitor productivity and compile accurate records of the number of catch basins in each treatment zone We also added adshyjustable electronic timing devices to run pumps for a length of time (beshytween zero and 10 seconds) to deshyliver precise dosages

Our moped larviciding units have resulted in cost savings and greater efficiency Since our techshynicians now regard catch basin treatment work as something other than punishment morale has imshyproved

An equipment and price list is available from the authors

~

The a~tJi9ts are employeesmiddot of the Sagjnawcolinty Mos-- tnlito AJateinelilCommissi()nmiddot

middot211 Congresmiddots st -Saginmiddot~w 1il 48602 middot- middot middot middotmiddot

middot middot middot ~

__ __ _

-111111

---------PCOINC

There have been a lot of changes lately

but NOT WITH middotus ADAPCO still offers the most complete range

of quality products for mosquito control

Industrys change Companies grow and expand change their names or close the ir doors ADAPCO is still the same ol company Our company motto remains the same growth through service with integrity

We continue to support this industry provide the best equipment and chemicals available and continue our research and development to constantly improve our product line

-~~ -- -

~DAP(QINc I I

I I- Growth through service with Integrity

2800 S FINANCIAL COURT SANFORD FLORIDA 32773-811 8 800-367-0659 bull FAX (407) 330-9888

E-MAIL adapcomissketacom

SUSTAINING MEMBERS OF FMCA amp AMCA

ADAPCOs Miss Keta

Restrictions on the use of pesshyticides continues to escalate on a daily basis be they pesticides used in agriculture or public health Beshycause of this programs designed to control diseases must often reshyduce their reliance on pesticides and use of Integrated Pest Manageshyment (I PM)

agents such as larvivorous fish and other non-chemical cultural biologishycal physical and mechanical methshyods Many public health pest manshyagement programs are attempting to make greater use of biorational chemical agents and Insect Growth Regulators (IG R) such as methoprene

IPM is successfully used on In Mexico an investigation en-

Badii Zabed (UAIJL) Dr Luis 0 Tejada (ITESM) and Dr Jimmy K Olson (Texas A amp M University) and myself The current participants inshyclude Dr Carlos Solis-Rojas Violeta Ariadna Rodriguez -Castro Ruben M Gonzolezshylglesias Josefina C TrujilloshyGarcia Daniel lllartinez-Fiores and myself

several major crops around the titled Integrated Strategies for Lar- The UANL project is com-world As a result a number of en- val Mosquito Management was re- prised of several lines of investiga-vironmental problems associated cently initiated by the Faculty of Bio- tion focusing on the biology and con-with the over-use of ~-------------------- trol of larval mosquito pesticides were Tijuana~ populations breeding

~ solved Toxic residues ~S i ~ in natural permanent on plant products were Ensenada 1 bull Hermosillo and temporal pools reduced and the over- l -- and in artificial contain-all quality of the envi- middot _ bullchihuahua ers and ovitraps Mos-ronment was en- l quitoes such as

hanced by the reduced La ~~)~) __ MMoEntXerrleCy bull

0 ---)[ middot A n o p h e I e s

use of pesticides r pseudopunctipennis Thus crop pest popu- Culex pipiens and lations are being regu- middot Aedes aegypti which

) bull Guadalajara ~ -~Cancun lated as much if not M cmiddotty Veracruz 1 t are of majmiddotorveterinary

eXICO I bull bull j more by entomopha- -~ ~~~ and medical impor-gous approaches as Acapufcot__ bull Oaxaca tance to people living in they are by chemical ~ the state of Nuevo approaches -rapiiUr~ Leon are the focus of

The public health arena espeshycially the control of mosquitoes and other disease vectors has not esshycaped the effects of these trends and attitudes In several parts of the world control programs based solely on pesticides are being replaced by Integrated Vector Control (IVC) or Inshytegrated Mosquito Management (IMM) programs These programs maximize the use of natural control

10 Winter 1997

logical Sciences at the Autonomy University of Nuevo Leon (UANL) This project was made possible by a grant from the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnologia of Mexico

Its purpose is to conduct reshysearch to maximize non-chemical control tactics in mosquito control programs in Mexico The developshyers of the project included Dr M H

the project

Lines Of Research

Larval Ecology Studies Using quantitative ecology models we have better defined the larval niches of the three species and their patshyterns of spatial and temporal distrishybution Based on oviposition trap

continued on page 12

middot

--

middotso- Whltlt Good Are MOscplitoes 41tyray middotmiddotmiddotmiddot middot middot middot

- middot-middot

Out of a lot of things which we commonly view as good there comes much that could be considshyered bad For example reducing infant mortality is a good thing is it not And saving ch ildren from preshyventable disease is surely good Yet these lead to overpopulation pressure on resources and freshyquently too much suffering from famine Another example is sugar Sweet to the taste yet it can have disastrous dental consequences So for some goods there are conshysequential bads

Is the reverse true Do good things result from bad ones Let

us look at a common insect which is generally regarded with disfavour It is a nuisance and may affect health (of humans and animals) Its persistent whine strikes fearsome anticipation in the hearts of the bold and respectable people engage in bizarre rituals to rid the bedroom of this predator on a summer eve We speak of the mosquito Who thinks of this insect as good Yet conshysider its contribution to the national economy Not only do mosquitoes help support commercially valuable food chains (eg fisheries) but there are also whole areas of enshydeavour devoted to protecting people and places from the pest

b middotmiddot~~ middotiJte TJI ) _

These include research into mosshyquito lifestyle needs and prefershyences manipulating the environshyment to damage or remove its livshying quarters and investigating the human health implications of mosshyquito bites All of these activities can be measured in terms their contrishybution to the Gross 1Jational Prodshyuct (GNP) As a contributor to the growth of GNP the mosquito is withshyout peer That is nothing is equal to it

Let us explore this idea further Aware people know that mosquishytoes (the female ones) bite So people take precautions against a

continued on page 26

Superior Sampling Equipment For Superior Results

Chill Table This ingenious table doesnt require a sink Professional features include digital surface readout easy adjustment to -4 degC25degF annodized work surface marked with division li l)es and more

ABC Trap Kit Our basic kit is engineered with the features you need to make your job easier all weather design portability 5 programmable modes photosensor easily emptied simple adjustment and adaptshyability for C0 2 emissions

middotcall for our 16 page catalog 1-800-323-5727

East Greenwich Rhode Island

Order On-line em a il c lark ec m o squito c o m w e b w ww c mo s quit o com

middot ostObuted by middot ~ Clarke Mosquito Control Products Inc

U~ ~eau middot Winter 1997 11

continued from page 10 results all species of mosquitoes except for A e aegypti demonstrate an aggregate type distribution

Biological Control Studies There is evidence that aquatic inverteshybrates could cause up to 90 morshytality in the mosquito larval populashytions Functional response evaluashytions were performed on a variety of the aquatic invertebrates to meashysure and compare their respective capacities to prey on mosquito larshyvae Included in these evaluations were copepods dragonfly naiads coleopterans belonging to the famishylies Oytiscidae and Hydrophilidae and aquatic hemipterans such as water scorpions giant water bugs naucorids and notonectids The backswimmers Notoneeta irrorata and Buenoa scimitra (Hemiptera Notonectidae) show the greatest promise as possible biological agents The initial functional reshysponse test of the various predator groups began as simple systems involving a given predator species and one kind of prey Gradually varishyables were added in order to assess their effects on the predatory capacshyity of the given predator species The addition of refuge material in the form of filamentous algae and emershygent aquatic plants (Lythrum sp) showed that the predatory capacity decreased as refuge density inshycreased

Results of other experiments indicated that notonectids prefer mosquito larvae over chironomid larvae as prey Predatory copepshyods like Mesocyclops ongisetus and Macrocyclops albidus did not show a clear preference while larshyvae of the hydrophilid larvae Tropisternus sp showed a prefershyence for chironomid larvae The predatory capacity of several speshycies was further assessed in the

12 Winter 1997

field The backswimmer N irrorata was one of the best predators of mosquito larvae when individual predator species were used alone The best results with multiple predators were with the backswimmer B scimitra and the copepod Me ongisetus

We are trying to mass rear some of the most promising speshycies copepods and two hemiptershyans N irrorata and B scimitra In order to be able to use these and other predatory invertebrate speshycies as actual biological control agents to regulate larval populashytions of mosquitoes in Mexico techshyniques for efficiently producing reshyleasing and establishing large numshybers of these predators in larval mosquito habitats must be develshyoped

Non-conventional Control Agent Assessments Some formulations of BTl have been tested for efficacy against some Mexican mosquitoes As an outgrowth of the BTl assessshyments and entomophagous invershytebrate studies we evalupted the integrated action of BTl and certain of the more promising aquatic predators The combination of BTl and the notonectid N irrorata kept larval mosquito populations at very low levels in artificial containers for up to eight months Other aquatic predator-BTl combinations have been less successful

IGR formulations have also been assessed Those with methoprene provide excellent conshytrol when used alone or in combishynation with N irrorata B scimitra or Me ongisetus in artificial conshytainers One reason for these sucshycesses is that these predators can reproduce in the presence of methoprene

Mosquito Bioecology Studies Irrespective of the tactics chosen for inclusion in any IMM program that might be developed for Mexico we must first identify and characterize the breeding sites The UANL project includes a research composhynent which focuses on such issues as the mosquito species found asshysociated with various kinds of breeding habitats and the companshyion fauna which might be naturally regulating at least to some degree the mosquito populations

These bioecological studies are being accomplished by means of an extensive sampling program and should when they are comshypleted give us a base of knowledge on the status of the disease vecshytoring mosquito populations the type of natural control present the patterns of disease occurrence and the geographical and ecologishycal conditions existing in each type of habitat where mosquito control programs in Nuevo Leon and else where in Mexico might be impleshymented The knowledge gained from the studies described above will help us select the best tools for IMM strategies for a given habitat We look forward to the time when such strategies take maximum adshyvantage of natural control factors supplemented with BTl and other biorational approaches

Dr middot Humbetto middotQuiroz Martinez middot middot Js middot with middot ~ the

middotvn~i~efsidScl - ~ _utomiddotnomiddotirla De N~~~vo Leon in Nuevo leon middotmiddot Mexico= middot middot

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The US Environmental Protecshytion Agency has sent US Departshyment of Agriculture officials back to their drawing boards insisting that USDA withdraw and rethink its application for continuing authority to use malathion bait spray to combat medfly infestations

Heres EPAs posit ion as stated by the director of EPAs Pesticide Registration Division

Would you like the government flying planes over your home spraying chemicals Nobody does The AP quoted James J Jones as saying We believe that should be the last resort

EPA has been feeling intense pressure from a segment of the Florida public that is opposed to any aerial spraying of pesticide for any reason Jones may be responding to a group he considers constituents

If his comments truly reflect an emerging new EPA approach to pesticide registration American agriculture is in real trouble

Never mind the fact that the comments are inaccurate aerial application of pesticides to control mosquitoes is not uncommon in urban areas of Florida and genershyally provokes little complaint

Of greater concern is the implication that EPAs registration division has empowered itself to speak as an authority on control and eradication of exotic pests a role that has up to now been vested by statute in the USDA

The role of EPA has been to assure that human health is protected The agencys conclushysions are supposed to be based on sound science But Joness comments would indicate that the

EPA is allowing publ ic opinion and emotion to over-ride sdentific considerations

Weighing risks and benefits

Reject the use of chemieals because folks dont like it That logic leads to a scenario where even basic mosquito control might be ruled out After all mosquito control measures place far more spray materials in the atmosphere every year that do the rare medfly eradication efforts

Yet no one we know wants to return to the days when Florida residents huddled around citronella candles every evening and swatted mosquitoes

Risk and benefit should be the considerations when pesticide use is evaluated just as risk and benefit are considered every day by anyone who gets into a vehicle to travel EPA should go back to its basic statutory responsibility

Simple untested remedies wont work

Florida Farm Bureau staffers have long suspected EPA was gravitating toward an emotionshybased activist agenda aimed at forcing reduction of pesticide use Joness comments arent the first we have heard from EPA officials that seemed to contain that agenda

In informally rejecting USDAs Section 18 request for medfly eradication authorization EPA was so bold as to suggest alternatives to aerial spraying including the early and continuing introduction of sterile flies as is being done in California

FloridAgricultur

In Cal ifornia several years of sterile fly application have estabshylished what amounts to an endemic population of sterile flies in a 2000 square mile area near the major seaport Officials are hoping that the large number of existing steriles would overwhelm any introduced flies although that remains a theory rather than a proven fact

This effort costs California about $15 million annually - just to cover the major port of entry

Here in Florida ports of entry blanket the Peninsula A similar program in Florida would cost upwards of $100 million per year In view of the cries of alarm we heard when Commissioner of Agriculture Bob Crawford presented the bill fo r medfly eradication last summer -which amounted to about $18 million - it i$ difficult to imagine Floridians queuing up to contribute that kind of money to a massive prophylactic sterile fly effort

One must also remember that sterile medflies are not a standard shelf item readily available upon demand It took several months for Guatemala to produce the flies used at the end of the eradication in westshycentral Florida

Exotic pests such as the medfly do not yield to facile solutions and those who advocate simplistic untested remedies do no service to the public or the industry

middot Aep~irited with permission

from FioridAgriCultuie the Fmiddotlorida middot middotFarm middot Burmiddoteaumiddotmiddots

ll)onthiy newsletter middot

UU~ 8eaU Winter 1997 13

IJrankcase

Eddie

Outside of some sales manushyfacturers and distributors I someshytimes wonder how many people reshyally pay any attention to the LD

50

of a chemical or for that matter really understand what it means We should be concerned because we are usually talking about how a chemical may affect people not bugs

A complete explanation of LD50 or how it is determined would be extremely technical To make it easily understood we are going to generalize and only discuss Oral LD50 using male rats as these are the most common test animals

DEFINITION

By definition the LD50 is the amount of a chemical that will kill 50 of the animals treated within a given time period Why chose 50 We could use LD

10 or LD

85bull To

answer that question lets look at it another way Suppose you wanted one value to represent the fuel consumption of a vehicle that can operate in the 0-20 mph range You would probably choose 10 mph since it is the midpoint of the range In essence it is an average mph that offers the best accuracy over the entire range The LD

50 is

also an average of sorts a point that offers the best single estimate of toxicity over a wide range In reality the actual amount of chemi-

14 Winter 1997

middot

-- -

cal to kill one individual would probshyably be more or less than the LD

50

amount

HIGHER IS BETTER

Probably the hardest thing to understand about LD50 is that the higher the number the safer the chemical Again lets look at it in a different way Suppose you were in a kite-flying war and your enshyemy had a rocket that was less acshycurate as it went higher and couldnt reach past 5000 ft If you were flying your kite at 1000 ft your enemy would have a better chance of shooting it down than if you were flying at 4000 ft If you were above 5000 ft you would be completely safe Now change the roc~et to a

~

chemical and the altitude to the amount of chemical If you could eat or drink more than 5000 units of the product with no effect you could say 5000 is a safe dose But if you and a bunch of your less-inshytelligent cronies take say 4000 units and one or more of them dies then you would probably say deshypending on who died that a dose of less than 5000 units is not safe So the more chemical you can eat or drink without effects the safer the chemical

AN EXAMPLE

In order to test a chemical we are going to feed different amounts of chemical to several rats Some rats would ~et two units some

sooo -------------Almost Non-Toxic---------------

4000

CJ 3000 ~ -0)

2000

1000

o~-

Fairly Safe Moderate Toxic

Toxicity

continued on page 15

continued from page 14 would get four units some would get six etc Each rat gets only one dose one time We wait and count the number of rats in each dose group that died within 14 days We then plot the percent not the number of rats that died in each dose group vs the dose and draw a line that repshyresents the relationshipTo detershymine the LD50 we find the 50 point on the vertical axis and move to the right to where the line we drew crosses the 50 We could overshysimplify this process by saying that the dosage that resulted in the death of 4 out of 8 animals is the LD

50

We could discuss Dermal LD50

which is usually determined on rabshybits or we could talk about Inhalashytion LD

50 but I think you get the picshy

ture

The LD50 gives us a relative measurement of how safe or how toxic a product is We should pay more attention to it because it gives every user a safety guideline

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Request For Materials

UJiltlt- 8UU4- is a publication for operational mosquito and vector control produced by the Florida Mosshyquito Control Association and an official publication of the AMCA

On our continued quest to keep all interested parties informed on matshyters as they relate to mosquito conshytrol and to disseminate information to help educate and raise the level of the mosquito control profession we need your help

If you have any news items that you would like to share with us for others to benefit forward them to

Dennis Moore Editor-in-Chief PO Box 60005 Fort Myers FL 33906 Phone (941) 694-2174 Fax (941) 694-6959 e-mail moored maildmsstateflus

Following are a few examples of what we are looking for

OPositions available OUpcoming meetings amp e~ents ONew product announcements Oletters to the editors and

responses to previous articles ONew advertisements

We invite you to submit operashytional papers so that our readers may share and benefit from your experiences

Have you heard an interesting presentation recently at your state or regional meetings Ask the presentor if they would be willing to submit their presentation to UJ~ 8ea-U for publication so that a much larger audience can benefit from their experience

Interested in advertising Call Dennis for information regarding rates and ad specifications

Upcoming Meetings

AMCA Annual Meeting March 8-12 1998

John Ascuagas The Nugget (800) 648-1177 in Sparks NV Contact AMCA Central Office (318) 474-2723 for more inforshymation

International Conference On Emerging Infectious Diseases March 8-11 1998

Mariott Marquis Hotel Atlanta GA for more information call (202) 942-9248 or e-mail meeting info journalasmusaorg

Insecticide Resistance Workshop March 23-24 1998 CDC in Atlanta GA Sponsored by the CDC and AMCA Registration taken through Feb 28th For further information contact Janet McAllister Fellow CDC Div of Parasitic Diseases MS F22 4770 Buford Hwy Atlanta GA 30341

Tel (770) 488-4049 Fax (770) 488-4258 JVM6CDCGOV

North American Conference on Pesticide Spray Drift Management March 29- April1 1998

Holiday Inn by the Bay Portland ME for further information contact Jim Dill at (207) 581-3880 or visit their web site at

httpwwwstatemeusl agriculturel driftthtm

FMCA Spring Meeting May 18-21 1998

Holiday Inn International Drive Orlando FL (407)351-3500 Contact Shelly Redovan at (941)694-2174for more inforshymation

UJ~ 8ea-U Winter 1997 15

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Entomologist The Plymouth County Mosshy

quito Control Project has an openshying for an entomologist with an MS and two years experience in biolshyogy and control of mosquitoes Consideration may be given to a BS with five years of exceptional experience and work record Reshyquires a field-oriented individual that is an energetic self-starter to strengthen the Projects ground aerial and water management proshygrams Some computer and public relations interest andor experience is desirable Position includes health vacation and retirement benefits Salary dependent on qualifications For a more detailed job description send cover letter and resume to Dr Kenneth W Ludlam Superintendent Plymouth County Mosquito Control Protect PO Box 72 Kingston MA 02364 No telephone calls please

Entomology in The Navy The United States Navy has

job openings for qualified entoshymologists in the Medical Service Corps One position is available currently and 4 more will be availshyable 1 October 1998 Minimum reshyquirements include 1) Must be a citizen of the United States 2) Be less than 35 years of age 3) Posshysess a Masters or Ph D degree in or relating to entomology with at least one course in medical entoshymology Further information or apshyplication procedures may be ob-

tained from the Medical Programs

16 Winter 1997

Positions Available

Section of the nearest Navy Reshycruiting Office or by phoning 1-800-327-NAVY Technical professional information is available from the Specialty Leader for Medical Entoshymology CDR Cole J Church MSC USN address NDVECC-JAX Nashyval Air Station Box 43 Jacksonville FL 32212-0043 Phone (904) 542-2424 FAX (904) 542-4324 e-mail dvjOcjc jax1 Omednavymil

Assistant Superintendent Norfolk County Mosquito Control

Project Norwood Massachusetts is now accepting resumes for the poshysition of Assistant Superintendent

The following minimum qualificashytions apply bachelors degree in BishyologyEntomology or a related field or 5 years of continuous and recent service in mosquito control or an equivashylent field Salary will be commensurate with experiencequalifications Applishycants should have a strong background in the following areas SupervisingPersonnel Management Computers specifically spreadsheets word processing accounting mapping and operating within windows 95 public relationspublic speaking general working knowledge of pesshyticides and pesticide regulations wetlands regulations equipment operationspurchasing general office skills

Resumes should be sent before 330 pm Wednesday March 6 1998 to The Norfolk County Mosquito Control Project Building 34 Endicott Street Norwood MA 02062 Attn John J Smith Superintendent Telephone (781) 762-3681 Fax (781) 769-6436 ltjjsmith kersurnetgt

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Mosquito Control Wetlands Biologist

The Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Conshytrol is seeking a wetlands biologist for a full-time permanent position in a state fish and wildlife manageshyment agency The successful apshyplicant will be responsible for deshysigning and evaluating water manshyagement systems in tidal wetlands to control saltmarsh mosquitoes (eg Open Marsh Water Manageshyment) and for restoring and manshyaging coastal impoundments for multiple environmental objectives These projects will involve all asshypects of interacting with federal and state regulatory agencies and grant programs

Individual will evaluate pest conshytrol efficacies of operational insectishycides and impact on non-target orshyganisms calibrate spray equipment to ensure proper insecticide delivery and monitor mosquito and disease surveillance programs Computer skills including GIS applications are desirable Minimum qualifications are a BS in an appropriate biological or environmental science (MS preshyferred) and experience in mosquito control and wetlands management practices Position will be filled at an Environmental Scientist Ill level with starting annual salary from $30381-$37976 commensurate with qualifishycations

Please request job application forms from the Human Resources Office DNREC 89 Kings Highway Dover DE 19901 (phone 302-739-5823) and submit completed applishycation package and resume to same by March 16 1998

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In a mossy forest clearing just yards behind their Big Lake home Ray and Bethel Puhl prepare for their daily springtime hunt Each withdraws a large plastic lidded container from a grocery bag then stands alert Their eyes scan the empty air and each other Bethel reshygards her husband from the wisps of his white hair to the arms of his navy windbreaker and coverall to the slightly soggy patch of lettuceshyleafed lichen beneath his feet

Youre free and clear she says Ray returns the gaze nodshyding a little as he reviews his wifes denim jeans her fleece jacket her dangling silver earrings adorned with forget-me-nots her curly gray hair Not even a flitter bug yet he says The couples eyes meet and they grin Suddenly Ray leaps toshyward his wife arms extended a container in one hand a little blue lid in the other Theres one on your head With a sharp clack and the sound of tearing hair he swoops the catcher together just inches above Bethel She winces Did you get him she asks Aw I squashed it in the lid he says Darn Ray shakes the mangled catch from his container and begins his search again Experienced hunters the two have every reason to believe theyll find more prey

The Puhls are hunting mosquishytoes While most people have been looking for ways to repel these flyshying bloodsuckers 66-year old Bethel Puhl Alaskas Mosquito

Taxidermist has been working to atshytract them Over the past 27 years shes turned the bugs into a sucshycessful side business She catches them gasses them and gives them what most Alaskans would probably consider a fittingly undignified end She turns them into tourist trinkets

Bethel first got the idea while being lunched on by the bugs at an Anchorage barbecue in 1969 For three years the mother and Cub Scout volunteer had been trying to create the perfect Alaska souvenir something that might bring in a little spending money Inspired by Scout projects she tried encasing little state flags gold-painted rocks and other Alaska items in durable plasshytic resin to make paperweights and key chains she thought might sell

But at the barbecue her hardshybitten host suggested there was yet another part of Alaska lore hed like to see permanently encased in plastic Since then shes captured thousands of the insects turning them into necklaces and earrings belt buckles and bolo ties collectors spoons and money clips Its a questionable kind of immorshytality to be sure But with tourists buying the one-of-a-kind insect items for between $7 and $25 apiece shes still making them -shyusing a process she developed through years of trial and error

First of course she must get the bugs Its a brief season The largest mosquitoes of the year

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come out in mid-April and are only around for about six weeks Bethel says So with the help of her husshyband Bethel doesnt let a day go by without going out to catch them

Ray 67 explains his primary role Im bait After catching the insects Bethel feeds them She pokes a looped piece of copper wire into the containers using the instrument to lower 0-tips soaked in red liquid Its not blood she says just water red food coloring and another ingredient She guards the last ingredients identity like a old family recipe Its taken her too long to learn to just give her seshycrets away she says

There are more secrets in the bunkhouse a one-room shed outshyfitted like a combination workshop and dental laboratory and reeking with the acrid smell of plastic resin There the mosquitoes are euthanized in a cotton-lined glass jar marked simply poison kept seshycurely in a wooden cabinet The identity of its contents is another trade secret

But Bethels happy to show the final stages of the process This is yesterdays crop she says pointshying out a shelf full of nearly 130 resinshyfilled oval ceramic molds The white ceramic molds look like rows of oversized contact lenses each with a large spindly-legged speck in the middle

continued on page 18

UWf Seau Winter 1997 17

continued from page 17 After each bug is gassed she

explains she places it on a layer of liquid plastic and arranges it with a couple of toothpicks to look menshyacing What I try to do is pull their wing up and put their proboscis here she says moving as though manipulating a bugs leg If I do get it riDflf it looks like theyre dancing The finishing touch is usually a little label that reads ALASKA Last year Bethel made more than 390 earring-sized ovals Theyve sold in Florida Georgia and Utah -- even overseas But Bethel who prefers the jewelry she makes from forgetshyme-nets and other Alaska flowers still cant quite believe her success

But shes not just doing it for the money Bethel enjoys her hobby Sometimes the process reminds her of her youngest son Paul who

used to roam shirtless through the woods to catch insects for her When he died in a scuba-diving acshycident in 197 4 she had to set her hobby aside But at the suggestion of Ray her second husband Bethel took the toothpicks up again in 1986 and has been doing it ever since As the two demonstrated on their recent afternoons hunt seeking skeeters can be fun

After about half an hour the days hunting trip has ended a sucshycess All afternoon in a frenzy of jumping and container snapping she and Ray have been darting around leaping at the bitty bugs and laughing Now each container held to an ear whines like a tiny fighter plane theyve captured 35 bugs Im going to be busy again tomorshyrow arent I Bethel says

BVA

Soon enough though theres a quiet spell and Ray looks at Bethel and starts to guffaw Asked to share his thoughts he does I just wonshyder about us he says and smiles

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MOSQUITO CONTROL PRODUCTS BVA 2 Larvicide Oil

EPA 70589 Quick Kill Larvicide

Short-Term

BVA 13 EPA 55206-2

The Clear Choice For ULV Diluents

BVA Maximum Flushing Oil Cleans Nozzles and Tanks

Dissolves Insecticide Residues and Sludge Deposits

BVA OILS 800-231-3376 FAX 248-348-2684

18 Winter 1997

BVA Chrysalin EPA 045987-6-55206

Botanical Long Life Larvicide

BVA Fog OillOO N aphthenic Oil

Used for Certain Fogging Operations

E-MAIL BVAOILS AOLCOM

VectoBacreg and Bactimosreg give you the most effective mosquito larvae controlshy

whichever formulation you prefer

Now with Abbott you can choose either VectoBacreg or Bactimosreg for long-lasting and economical control

of mosquito larvae Both contain the naturally occurring active ingredient Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) -highly effective yet perfect for environmentally sensitive

application sites They offer the widest range of formulations available too Ask your Abbott representative about the

benefits of VectoBac and Bactimos today

VectoBacreg Bactimosreg

a Abbott Laboratories - Quality Health Care Worldwide Public Health Products - North Chicago IL 60064 - 800-323-9597

Most modern mosquito control agencies regularly survey mosquito populations by trapping adults These critters usually are brought in from the field and given to the bug ID folks who look at them unshyder a microscope Often field techshynicians can supplement this inforshymation by identifying mosquitoes when conducting landing rate counts At Pasco County Mosquito Control District in Florida we train our field personnel to identify both larvae and adults by conducting inshyhouse workshops and by their atshytending one or more of the many different ID classes given by expert taxonomists Dr Richard Darsie and Tom Loyless at the Florida Mosquito Control Associations Dodd Short Course It is difficult to have fresh mosquitoes available each time you want to point out a field ID mark on a certain species A good blow-up picture of a mosshyquito is a good substitute at these times However there just arent a lot of mosquito macro-photograshyphers around making up these photo-reference collections so most people resort to sketches in taxonomic keys manuals and pashypers The sketches just dont have the same look as a good macroshyphoto

Well if you have a flat-bed scanner (less than $500 today) and a color printer hooked up to your personal computer you can make a mosquito reference collection for in-house training You can clean

20 Winter 1997

up the scans with a graphics editshying program such as Corel Photopaint or Adobe Photoshop but this isnt mandatory There are many freeware and shareware photo retouching programs that can be downloaded from the internet (visit httpwwwtucowscom) You can print directly from the scan or you can edit the scan and print it from the editing program You can also take a picture of the scan dishyrectly from your computer monitor and have your local drug store proshycess the film and print it on 8 x 1 0 color paper

Toxorhynchites rutilus

female

ventral view

jfsampdaw pcmcd 09-97

I

It is best to use adults that have been reared from larvae and not damaged in a collection jar or bag For the best results scan them within a day after killing them If you wait too long their legs will break off when you try to straighten them The 600 dots per inch (DPI) scan of a Toxorhynchites rutilus was made with the specimen placed dishyrectly on the glass of our HP Scan jet 3C scanner and edited with Corel Photo-Paint 6 At this resolu-

tion a file is about 6-7 megabytes (Mb) in size At 150 DPI the scan would be about 14 Mb and would fit on a floppy disk For archives we use a zip drive A 100 Mb zip disk holds 1 0-15 large images and 60-70 smaller ones Prints are made using a typical inexpensive color ink-jet printer You can purshychase a new ink-jet printer that proshyduces near photo-quality images for about $500

Once our adult collection is complete we will probably scan in a few larvae and pupae of common species and some shed skins You can put them in a drop of water in a clear glass petri dish to scan them Preliminary work shows that the technique works well but the colshyors are not so dramatic

If you have any questions please contact the authors at Pasco County Mosquito Control 2308 Marathon Road Odessa FL 33556 Phone 813-376-4568 Fax 813-376-4704 Email pcmcdgtenet Web Site http home1 gtenetpcmcdindexhtm

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our most imporiant mission is maintainshying the very high sta ndards of quality you demand to protect the health of the people in your charge

In the war against mosquitoes

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I L ~ U0l f we s-pend upwards of $200 mfl-lion each year on research and develshyopment The fruits of this effort have included the highly successful Scourgereg and Permanone brands as well as the act ive ingredients for many other high-

compounds you can rely on us to bring the best of them to market in the shortshyest safest time Its what being a world leader is all about

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Winter 1997

Announcement for Spring 1998 FMCA Meeting

THE CONFERENCE ON URBAN GROWTH AND ITS IMPACT ON FUTURE MOSQUITO CONTROL

PROBLEMS AND OPPORTUNITIES

At the US Environmental Protection Agencys request over the past two years the Florida mosquito control and environmental communties through the auspicies of the Florida Coordinating Council on Mosquito Control (a legislatively established interagency committee) have deshyveloped a White Paper on Florida Mosquito Control The intent of this document which will be published shortly is to provide a snapshot of Florida mosquito control in 1996-97 with the goal of developing recommendations on how mosquito control chemical use and risk can be reduced in the future

As the finale for this ambitious project the White Pashyper Steering Committee is organizing a conference from May 18-21 1998 at the International Drive Holiday Inn (Orlando) to bring the White Paper development to a conclusion and to provide a forum where discussions

middot can occur on current issues facing mosquito control potential future problems and opportunities and the deshyvelopment of recommendations on how to solve such issues This conference which will coincide with the Spring Meeting of the Florida Mosquito Control Assoshyciation will include sessions with invited speakers folshylowed by panel discussions After the conclusion of the meeting presentations abstracts and recommendations will be published as an addendum to the White Paper For additional information concerning the meeting conshytact Richard Baker (Florida Medical Entomology Laboshyratory 561-778-7200 rhbaiconveroufledu) or Doug Carlson (Indian River Mosquito Control 561-562-2393 dcarlson1 hotmailcom)

Holiday Inn International Drive 407-351-3500 (tel) 407-351-9196 (fax) Single and double rooms are $89 May 18-21 1998

7

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Importance Aedes melanimon is an important arbovirus vector and biting pest where it is abundant in western North America Ae melanimon is the primary vector and maintenance host of California encephalitis virus maintaining the virus via transovarial transmission It is also a vector of western equine encephalomyelitis virus with two inshyterrelated transmission cycles beshytween wild birds and Culex tarsalis and between Ae melanimon and jackrabbits occurring in the Sacrashymento Valley of California Because Ae melanimon is very abundant and readily feeds on humans it is also an important biting pest

Geographic Distribution Ae melanimon is broadly distributed in western North America from Canada to California and 1Jew Mexico and as far east as western Nebraska In California it is most abundant in the Central Valley and other interior river valleys

Identification Adult A e melanimon and the closely related species Ae dorsalis and Ae campestris can be distinguished from other sympatric Aedes speshycies by the presence of pale bands overlapping the tarsal joints and nushymerous pale scales on the wings Female Ae melanimon are genershyally darker in appearance than Ae dorsalis and Ae campestris with a higher proportion of dark scales on the palps thorax and wings Males are distinguished by differences in

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the genitalia Ae melanimon are similar to Ae dorsalis larvae with both species having a regular pecten row broadly incomplete saddle a comb scale patch single upper and lower head hairs and a weak saddle hair Ae melanimon larvae can be distinguished by a weak mesonotal hair 1 and a more slender comb scale with a strong central spine

Immature Biology Ae melanimon larvae develop in intermittently flooded habitats such as seasonal wetlands riverine overflow areas and occasionally irrigated pastures Eggs are deposited at the base of vegetation Fully formed larvae can persist in the egg until the site is inshyundated and hatching occurs About 6- 10 days are required to complete larval and pupal development and for adult emergence under normal summer temperatures

Adult Biology Female Ae melanimon commence host seekshying 24 - 48 h after emergence preshysumably after being inseminated Host seeking is nocturnal with peak activity occurring shortly after sunshyset Adults rest in understory vegshyetation in riparian areas during dayshytime Each gonotrophic cycle takes about 5 days to complete in the field with one blood meal required per gonotrophic cycle Adult female survivorship is high with a substanshytial portion of the population comshypleting more than one gonotrophic cycle Though Ae melanimon

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readily disperses into inhabited arshyeas dispersal rates are significantly lower than observed for sympatric Ae vexans females Ae melanimon larvae are collected from irrigated pastures along side Ae nigromaculis Ae vexans and Culex tarsalis

Seasonal dynamics In California adults and larvae are found from March though November Ae melanimon is facultatively multivolshytine with the number of generations per year determined by the number and duration of flooding and drying cycles Ae melanimon overwinters as embryonated eggs In the Censhytral Valley of California peak abunshydance occurs in late surnmer and early fall when seasonal wetlands are flooded for overwintering migrashytory waterfowl

Blood Feeding Ae melanimon feeds predominately on mammals with jackrabbits being the most common blood meal source Feshymales readily feed on humans and will disperse from larval sites into inhabited areas Host seeking acshytivity occurs shortly after sunset though resting females will bite when disturbed in daytime resting areas ~

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UJ~ eeau Winter 1997 23

Lit1cs of flight nd Where We May Be Going

~

ifferentially Correcte obal Positioning Sys-tem (P-yenPS) ~4

Aerial application has always searched for better flight guidance Personnel waving flags trucks with flashing strobes balloons and kytoons can help a pilot treat the appropriate area with even covershyage Use of these techniques is limshyited by terrain winds high costs and the time required to place these markers In the late 1980s Loran C-based electronic guidance began to provide flight informa-tion

In 1993 Global Positioning Systems (GPS) became available for use in aerial application In 1994 a differentially corrected Gloshybal Positioning System (DGPS) was marketed for use in aircraft Finally accuracies of plus or minus three feet and update rates of five times per second were available Aerial application now had a tool fast enough and accurate enough to greatly improve its ability to evenly disperse products and sigshynificantly increase efficacy

Mosquito control managers were equally enthused with the reshycording capabilities of the DGPS The location of the aircraft its speed altitude and whether or not it is applying insecticides can be recorded each second This inforshymation can be laid over a GIS map as a permanent record of the flight path of the mission Certain infershyences can then be drawn as to what was treated and not treated The accuracy of the pilots application can be verified Necessary correc-

24 Winter 1997

tions to the flight path can be made on a timely basis This alone is a huge step forward compared to yesterdays technique of dealing with a problem after the application window has passed

Some projects lend themshyselves to the pre-flight delineation of application areas on a GIS Block boundaries can be loaded into the aircrafts DGPS in digital format thus eliminating the pilots need to determine the boundaries from maps and ground markings Guidshyance is provided via the DGPS moving map display This cockpit display visually tells the pilot when the aircraft has entered the block provides left and right guidance for parallel flight paths of the proper separation and visually portrays sections of the block still requiring treatment Pilots spend less flight time identifying the blocks and block boundaries are adhered to with better accuracy Aircraft speed can be linked to application flow rates This allows the system to better control the application rate reducing the effects of headwinds uneven terrain and aircratt speed

The location can be transmitshyted from air to ground and displayed on a personal computer in real time allowing managers to monitor the progress of aerial missions in an office Telephone calls from outside the agency about aircraft can be handled more efficiently when manshyagers know the exact location of air-

craft what direction it is traveling and how much longer it may be in an area Real time awareness of opshyerations allows managers to make decisions affected by the weather concerned citizens personnel reshyquirements and efficacy with more information

GPS On the Ground

DGPS on ground sprayers transmitted back to the base of operations can also provide locashytion and activity information Speshycial information could also be transshymitted back Wouldnt it be nice to know immediately if an air bag on a vehicle that had been in an accishydent was activated or an insecticide tank tipped over

Mosquito abatement protects not only the life styles of people but their very lives The safety and efficacy of mosquito control can be enhanced by the use of DGPS a powerful new tool

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TerMin-SR IBG Larvicide Slow-release neutral-buoyant pH-balanced I tty Bitty Granules for Mosquito Control

ACTIVE INGREDIENT Bacillus methogenus var altosaxus active toxins 812 INERT INGREDIENTS 9188 Total 10000

POTENCY 14 bazillion International Toxic Units (ITU) per liter of this product

KEEP OUT OF THE REACH OF CHILDREN

WARNING

STATEMENT OF PRACTICAL TREATMENT If swallowed or in eyes don t panic immediately seek immediate medical attention

PRECAUTIONARY STATEMENTS

HAZARDS TO HUMANS A void contact with eyes open wounds or applicators youve recently met on the world wide web Wear gloves and goggles while handling this product

ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS Do not apply this product directly to treated finished drinking water revervoirs or electrical receptacles

DIRECTIONS FOR USE

It is a violation of Federal Law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with these here label directions

TerMin-8R IBG Larvicide slow-release neutral-buoyant pH-balanced itty bitty granules are thought to be effective against most known mosquito species Apply granules to known or suspected mosquito habitats or to areas where mosquitoes are likely to breed or where the public is likely to observe your activities Use rates depending upon site and population conditions Apply only when mosquito larvae are present as using this product will otherwise be a complete and utter waste of time but we understand that sometimes you just have to look busy

MOSQUITO HABITAT Suggested RATE

Pools ponds ditches pastures 1 - 5 lbsacre light to moderate populations

Catch basins storm water 5 - I 0 lbsacre retention areas tidal pools high populations moderate pollution

Allow 7 to 14 day interval between applications Under conditions such as extremely high organic content extremely high populations extremely heavy vegetative cover or when all else fails application rates may be doubled or even tripled

STORAGE AND QISPOSAL Store in a dark dry place Pesticide Pisposal Do not contaminate water luncheon meat~ or freeze dried foods by storage or disposal Container Disposal Com-pletely empty bag into application equipment then dispose of in a sanitary landfill or by burning if allowed by State and local authorities If burned stay out of smoke unless respirator goggles and fire resistant clothing are worn

DISCLAIMER No trademark brand name or manufacturer is intended to be endorsed implied implicated or rid iculed by this faux specimen label which has been fabricated for readers of Wing Beats a fine and upstanding publication of the Florida Mosquito Control Association

EPA Reg No 12345-5220 EPA Est No 12345-CA-2

NET CONTENTS 25 Kilograms

BLAMMO CORPORATION Public Health Pest Management Division 1994 Spillway Avenue Nevermind NE 08080 USA

TerMin-8R-IBG faux specimen label revised 060197 by SLS

IJ~ Ciea-U Winter 1997 25

continued from page 11

successful attack They use pershysonal and domestic repellents and insecticides they screen houses wear clothing (there are other reasons for this) and otherwise engage in evasive or destructive action Someone has to think of these things invent and produce advershytise and distribute and pray that they work Money is exchanged for the hope of relief or protection

Then there is the disease aspect Mosquitoes may bear gifts of mashylaria dengue and miscellaneous vishyruses Seeking cause prevention or cure may stimulate a great deal of medical research and the growth of associated industries such as the pharmaceutical trade Again money is transferred in the search for the panacea We expect our governshyments and their institutions to proshytect us against our enemies to deshyclare and wage war in appropriate circumstances War is also genershyally believed to boost the economy and increase GfIP So too even if on a smaller scale does the battle against the biting insect So there are more industries related to reshysearching the mosquito identifying its Achilles heel (so to speak) and planning a campaign to vanquish the foe Whole arsenals of weapons are being developed to keep ahead of and outmaneuvre the enemy Plus there are training programmes for the troops the spray equipment operators truck drivers airlane pi-

lots and other battlers Money lubrishycates the wheels of war

But there are situations where extermination may be unacceptable as an objective Some politically not to mention ecologically important animals such as insect-eating inshytercontinental migratory birds may find mosquitoes a welcome or imshyportant part of the menu at particushylar times Maintaining habitats for such birds may be an international responsibility and one which is inshycompatible with attempts to rid us of mosquitoes So now we see a need for even more activity mainly in research and management to ensure sustainable coastal ecosysshytems while minimizing mosquito problems for people Another growth industry

So far we have merely considshyered the direct effects of mosquishytoes on the economy But what about indirect or multiplier effects Take the fishing industry Associshyated with this is a range of activishyties which include processing adshyvertising and marketing transport and so on up to a fishy haute cuishysine As for research both medical and biological there are institutions set up to propose and administer programmes and train personnel as well to provide (and use up) fundshying At the combative level there are buildings equipment materials and training to be provided And at the

AMMIAINC

most general level there is a broad infrastructure which supplies sershyvices and goods for all the people involved in mosquito related activishyties and their families as well These include transport networks educashytion cultural opportunities sport and medical facilities police and prisons and so on They all contribute to the national economy whose well beshying is often measured in terms of growth in GNP Bigger is seen as better and the humble mosquito surely contributes in a very varied way

There are relatively few bads associated with mosquitoes These are mainly nuisance disease and the consequent loss of work (which some may consider good) Overshyall the goods may far outweigh the bads in number if not importance Indeed the much maligned mosshyquito could be seen as a linchpin of our national economy Remove it and the smaller wheels of comshymerce may fly loose

Dr Pat rich=) E R middot Diide is a lee- turer at Qriffith University in middot Brisbane AJStralia and works extensively with mo~quito con- trolpt~~rams in AustraUa

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PROGRAM ADMINISTRATOR SOUTHWEST ASSURANCE CORPORATION 12730 NEW BRITTANY BLVD SUITE 304 FORT MYERS FLORIDA 33907-3646

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Were Sales VW ampR s professional educated experienced staff knows and understands the vector control industry You can count on us to be there when you need us

Were Service VWampR has over 70 locations across the United States and Mexico that offer convenient local vector control products Count on our professional and knowledgeable industry experts to assist you in finding solutions to your problems

Were Serving the Vector Control Industry bull Bti s granules liquid

sand wettable powder briquettes dunks

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Call Your Local VWampR Office At

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Were More Than Just A Distributor

The Best Products including ABATE As American

Cyanamid exits the mosquito control market we are honored to be the exclusive formulashytor and distributor of ABATE products in the United States

to only a Warning label The new amendshyed labels also allow 1 2 and 5 Skeeter ABATE to be used as a pre-hatch in breeding and floodplain areas And now all Skeeter

ABATE has always been a great choice for effective conshytrol and now its even better

ABATE ABATE products are regisshytered to be applied using aerial equipment as well making this reliable prodshy

All 5 Skeeter ABATE labels have been amended down from a Danger classification

uct as versatile as it is effective

Call for a copy of the neW label

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tough jobs done right the first time Fully loaded everything is standard on this workhorse

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