Week 6 - New Devices and Techniques!
This week I started placing a new device out with the mosquito trap called the BG-Counter 2 into various resting box sites. This device is the next generation of mosquito surveillance technology and the first of its kind to enable remote monitoring for mosquitoes. Developing confidence in the technology and ground truthing the remote data is the goal of this study. For this study we are using a light ring to attract the mosquitoes to the trap. The BG-Counter 2 counts insects while they are sucked into the trap body by a battery powered fan and is able to differentiate a mosquito from other insects. Many other insects are attracted to light, and they do get into these traps. Testing the counter’s ability to accurately make these determinations (separating the mosquitoes from other insects) is key to the study. If it works as intended, this device should make a big difference. Because we are setting the traps up in remote areas (at our resting box sites for my convenience) without
