Mosquito Survey of Camp Gruber Training Center and Comparison with Other Oklahoma Military Bases

Abstract

Army National Guard training requires personnel to occasionally visit wild areas for one weekend a month and two weeks a year. During these times, the soldiers may be exposed to mosquitoes and be at risk of mosquito-borne pathogens. Our survey investigated mosquitoes inhabiting Camp Gruber Military Training Base, and in the adjacent town of Braggs, OK. Thirty traps (10 BG Sentinel Traps and 20 modified CDC light traps) using CO2 as attractant were emplaced every other weekend for 48 hours (Friday morning and-Sunday morning) for 23 collection periods between mid-April and late October 2018. A total of 10,405 mosquitoes from 7 genera and 26 species were collected, representing about 40% of the 64 species known from Oklahoma. The majority (98.4%) of mosquitoes were collected from CDC traps, which mainly collected Culex spp. (71.8% of total). Of the BG trap-collected mosquitoes, 40.2% were Aedes spp. The most abundant species Culex, of which some can transmit West Nile Virus. A single adult Aedes aegypti was captured on the base in August, and was genetically similar to a single larva captured in May. Compared with other military bases in Oklahoma, Camp Gruber had the only Ae. aegypti, and the most Ae. vexans, Cx. erraticus, and An. quadrimaculatus among bases. Tinker Air Force Base and Fort Sill Army Base had the most Ae. albopictus collected. The capture of Ae. aegypti along with other important disease vector species highlights the need for regular season-long monitoring to protect troops during training. Information generated from this study was used to provide mosquito warnings for troops training on base, and as well as a mosquito management plan for Camp Gruber.