Location-Specific Mosquito Campaigns
First of all, allow me to congratulate everyone on a wonderful launch of the project! We have gathered over 2,200 observation of 67 different mosquito species from 1,117 unique observers since our launch. Keep up the good work, and don't forget to invite your friends to contribute.
From July 25 until August 25, we will be making a particular effort to document several specific mosquito populations. If you are in one of the described areas, please keep your eyes open for the following species:
- We would like our project to generate the first iNaturalist observations of adult Aedes mediovittatus and Aedes vittatus from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Both are dengue vectors and potential invasive species which are present in the Caribbean but could expand northward.
- We are validating a habitat model for Aedes aegypti, in the Tampa Bay area of Florida. Specifically, we are looking for adult specimens from Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas, and Polk counties. The goal is to provide observations of this species across a variety of habitat and land use types in these four counties.
- We would like to contribute to an effort to pinpoint precise locations of the invasive species Aedes scapularis in the Miami area in Florida. We could use as many observations of adults of this species in Miami-Dade and Broward counties.
- We are still actively seeking mosquito observations from our entire study area. Just because you're not in one of these locations doesn't mean you can't contribute! Keep sending us those observations!
Once again, thank you all for your work so far, and let's keep up the good work!
~David Durieux
