The purpose of mosquito surveillance at this location was long-term species and population monitoring at a site not affected by the control methods used by the Florida Keys Mosquito Control District.

Thirty-two mosquito species were documented during the sampling period, spanning seven separate genera (Aedes, Anopheles, Culex, Culiseta, Deinocerites, Psorophora and Uranotaenia). Separate columns exist for specimens identified only to Family Culicidae (unidentified mosquito), specimens identified only to genus (i.e. Aedes spp.) and specimens identified to subgenus (i.e. Culex (melanoconion)) (Suppl. material 1). The dominant species collected at this site was Aedes taeniorhynchus comprising 95.49% of the collection and Anopheles atropos made up 1.22% of the collection over the trapping period. Thirty other species comprised less than 1% each of the total collection. Hribar et al. (2011) compiled a list of the mosquito species found on each island of the Florida Keys, incorporating the mosquito fauna of Key Largo from various trapping locations, including the State Route 905 Mile Marker 2 trapping site. Psorophora howardii and Aedes pertinax are absent from the 2011 published list that these records now contain. Psorophora howardii, previously reported on Stock Island approximately 100 miles (ca. 160 km) SSW, first identified at this location during the summer of 2018 over a 9 week period. This species has only been recorded during the wet summer and autumn months, but only sporadically and in low numbers. Aedes pertinax was found at this location in autumn of 2021, the second time it has been found in the Florida Keys in more than two decades (Boehmler and Hribar 2022). Perhaps the most interesting species observation in these data is Aedes aegypti in this collection site, with collections occurring sporadically. This site contains neither preferential hosts nor the preferred larval habitat typically associated with Ae. aegypti.

Collections were made by utilising dry ice-baited light traps, powered by a 6-volt battery (American Biophysics Company, Clarke, John W. Hock). A single ABC trap was set on a weekly basis, excluding weeks when situations prevented collections, including storms, dry ice shortages and personnel scheduling conflicts. Traps were loaded with 1 kilogram of dry ice, set in the afternoon and retrieved the following morning (approximately 20 hours) and positioned in the same area (within 6.5 metres) during the 18-year collection period, varying only due to altered environmental conditions such as downed trees. Mosquito collections were returned to the laboratory, killed by freezing, identified to species and sex when possible and totalled for each species present. The predominant identification guides used during the sampling period were Darsie and Morris 1998, Darsie and Morris 2000andDarsie and Ward 2005.

The dry ice-baited light trap was deployed on the island of Key Largo, Monroe County, Florida, USA. The trap is located on the Crocodile Lake National Wildlife Refuge (25.193508 N, -80.354768 W). Trapping permits were provided by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. The trap environment is located adjacent to a woodland pool in a tropical hardwood hammock, set amongst Buttonwood (Conocarpus erecta L.) (Hribar 2002). The woodland pool immediately adjacent to the trapping site is typically inundated during the wet summer months when filled with rain and dries during the drier winter months of the Florida Keys. Tidal flooding has not been observed at this location during normal weather and tidal events.

Mosquito surveillance data collection started at State Route 905 Mile Marker 2 in December 2003 and continued through December 2021. Collections were made weekly unless storms, material shortages or scheduling conflicts interfered with trapping.

Creative Commons Public Domain Waiver (CC-Zero)

State Route 905 MM2 2003-2021

1