2003 SURVEY FOR MOSQUITOES IN SOUTH DAKOTA
HISTORY OF RECENT SURVEYS IN SOUTH DAKOTA
This is the 3rd year of a project initiated by the South Dakota Department of Health for the purpose of monitoring mosquitoes in South Dakota for the presence of the West Nile Virus.  A group from SDSU has been assisting the Department of Health in collecting mosquitoes from the eastern side of the State.   The Department of Health is also trapping mosquitoes from the Pierre area.  On the eastern part of the state, the adult survey has focused on 7 different sites: 1) wooded acreage south of Brookings (1 mile east of Big Sioux River), 2) next to a pond inside the State Fairgrounds in Huron, 3) in a heavily wooded area next to a small stream at the Oak Lake Field Station 4) in a pasture area at the Oak Lake Field Station, 5) on the edge of a wooded area near a pond approximately 1/2 mile from the Missouri River, 6) wooded area in a park near a small oxbow lake from the Big Sioux River, within the city limits of Sioux Falls, 7) in a lightly wooded area along the Big Sioux River near a pond, in the city of Watertown a pond.  Three SDSU undergraduate student, Kathleen Dahmash, Jeanine Bradley, and Ryan Beyer, are performing most of the mosquito collections and identifications.  To collect mosquitoes, CDC miniture light traps (J.W. Hock Inc., Gainesville, FL) are being used with carbon-dioxide baiting, beginning on June 1 and ending on September 1, 2003.   The light traps are equipped with an internal programmable photo-switch such that the light and fan are turned on at dusk and and off at dawn.  The traps are checked each morning and the mosquitoes are frozen in conventional freezers (approximately -20C).  During the same week, the mosquitoes are thawed briefly, identified and then re-frozen at -70C.   Frozen mosquitoes are sent to the S.D. Department of Health on dry ice to be tested for the presence of the virus.

Collection Sites (Satellite image provided by the USGS EROS Data Center)
Current data is reported with each of the linked sites listed below.

Brookings Site:
Mosquito trap is located in a small grove on a acreage approximately 1 mile from the Big Sioux River.  The acreage is approximately 2 miles south of the Brookings city limits and contains a few horses and cows.

Huron Site:
Trap is located in a bushy area of the South Dakota State Fairgrounds in Huron, SD.

Oak Lake Field Station Site:
Site #1: This trap is located in a heavily wooded area at the field station the location of this field station is described in detail at the Oak Lake Field Station Website.

Site #2: This trap is located in a pasture at the field station the location of this field station is described in detail at the Oak Lake Field Station Website.

Pierre Sites
Site #1:This trap is hanging from a tree in a grassland type field nearby the S.D. Department of Health Laboratory.  The tree is next to a pond in a small wetlands area (approx. 3 or so acres) that consists of a somewhat stagnant pond that has tall grass around it..

Site #2:This trap is found in a very average backyard hanging from a wire trap holders.  The home is located near the center of Pierre.

Site #3:This trap is also found in a backyard, but in the home is located next to a moderate to heavy wooded area.  City municipalities including storm drains run through this wooded area.  Stagnant water often sits in the drains and the area is shaded with lots of cover.  The trap sits at the edge of the yard along a bush line, hanging from the branch of a mature tree.

Sioux Falls Site:
Trap is located in a wooded area within the city of Sioux Falls, SD.  The site is near a small oxbow lake from the Big Sioux River.

Watertown Site:
Trap is located in a lightly wooded area along the Big Sioux River in the city of Watertown near a pond.

NUMBER OF CULEX TARSALIS ADULTS COLLECTED THROUGHOUT THE SUMMER

AVERAGE NUMBER OF MOSQUITOES TRAPPED EACH DAY AT VARIOUS LOCATIONS
IN SOUTH DAKOTA DURING JUNE THROUGH AUGUST

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