Comparison of Ground Release and Drone-Mediated Aerial Release of Aedes aegypti Sterile Males in Southern Mexico: Efficacy and Challenges
Background
Diseases transmitted by the mosquito Aedes aegypti, such as dengue, chikungunya and Zika, affect millions of people in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a safe and environmentally benign method of population suppression that could be applied to reduce mosquito-transmitted disease. SIT involves the release of large numbers of sterile male insects that then compete with wild males in mating with females. The females that mate with sterile males do not produce viable offspring. To test this technique within a pilot-scale trial in a village in southern Mexico, we compared two methods for the weekly release of large numbers (approximately 85,000 males/week) of sterile males that were marked with colored powders for later identification.
Marina, C. F., Liedo, P., Bond, J. G., R. Osorio, A., Valle, J., Angulo-Kladt, R., … & Williams, T. (2022). Comparison of ground release and drone-mediated aerial release of Aedes aegypti sterile males in southern Mexico: efficacy and challenges. Insects, 13(4), 347.