Mosquito Control Laboratory, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, QLD, 4006, Australia.
Biogents AG, Weissenburgstr. 22, 93055, Regensburg, Germany.
Sci Rep. 2024 Feb 12;14(1):3494. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-54233-3.
Great advances in automated identification systems, or 'smart traps', that differentiate insect species have been made in recent years, yet demonstrations of field-ready devices under free-flight conditions remain rare. Here, we describe the results of mixed-species identification of female mosquitoes using an advanced optoacoustic smart trap design under free-flying conditions. Point-of-capture classification was assessed using mixed populations of congeneric (Aedes albopictus and Aedes aegypti) and non-congeneric (Ae. aegypti and Anopheles stephensi) container-inhabiting species of medical importance. Culex quinquefasciatus, also common in container habitats, was included as a third species in all assessments. At the aggregate level, mixed collections of non-congeneric species (Ae. aegypti, Cx. quinquefasciatus, and An. stephensi) could be classified at accuracies exceeding 90% (% error = 3.7-7.1%). Conversely, error rates increased when analysing individual replicates (mean % error = 48.6; 95% CI 8.1-68.6) representative of daily trap captures and at the aggregate level when Ae. albopictus was released in the presence of Ae. aegypti and Cx. quinquefasciatus (% error = 7.8-31.2%). These findings highlight the many challenges yet to be overcome but also the potential operational utility of optoacoustic surveillance in low diversity settings typical of urban environments.
近年来，自动化识别系统（或“智能陷阱”）在区分昆虫物种方面取得了重大进展，但在自由飞行条件下展示可实际应用的设备仍然很少。在这里，我们描述了在自由飞行条件下使用先进的光电声学智能陷阱设计对雌性蚊子进行混合物种识别的结果。使用混合种群的近缘物种（白纹伊蚊和埃及伊蚊）和非近缘物种（埃及伊蚊和致倦库蚊）进行了捕获点分类评估，这些物种在容器中栖息，具有医学重要性。在所有评估中，也常见于容器栖息地的库蚊被作为第三个物种。在总体水平上，非近缘物种（埃及伊蚊、库蚊和致倦库蚊）的混合收集可以达到超过 90%的准确率（%误差=3.7-7.1%）。相反，当分析代表日常陷阱捕获的个体重复样本（平均%误差=48.6；95%CI 8.1-68.6）和在存在埃及伊蚊和库蚊时释放白纹伊蚊的总体水平时，误差率会增加（%误差=7.8-31.2%）。这些发现突出了仍需克服的许多挑战，但也强调了光电声学监测在城市环境中典型的低多样性环境中的潜在操作实用性。
