Background information and instructions

Different Types of Mosquitoes  There are many different mosquito species around the world  You will be dealing with container breeding species

What Does Container Breeding Mean?  These are mosquitoes that lay their eggs in “containers”  Containers can include: Tires Garbage Cans Pools Puddles Bird Baths Tree Holes Or any other area of stagnant water

Container Breeding Mosquito Species Common species in the USA include:  Orthopodomyia  Culex  Anopheles  Ochlerotatus  Toxorhynchites  These species bite people and use their blood to feed their offspring  In the process, certain species spread different life threatening diseases such as Malaria, West Nile Virus, Dengue Fever, EEE (Eastern Equine Encephalitis) and others

The Labor Day Mosquito Count  The purpose of this project is to identify the different species of mosquitoes around the country and where they are most common  We do this by setting up traps where container breeding mosquitoes will be able to lay their eggs

 As students, you will be setting up mosquito traps outside around your houses  You will then send the traps back to the scientists at Clark University who will count the eggs  For assembly instructions click here:

 After trying multiple trap techniques, it was determined that a dark container color attracts mosquitoes  The coffee filter acts as a trap for the eggs and it is easier to see the dark color of eggs on a white surface  The leaves act as nutrition and as another attraction technique

 I It is important to be knowledgeable about the location of certain mosquitoes species so as a whole we can prevent the spread of disease and keep everyone as safe and healthy as possible.  Thank you for you participation!