Week 10

 The week of July 29th is the last week of the NEVBD internship! I have learned many molecular techniques and taxonomic tools over these past 10 weeks. Initially, I underestimated the importance of surveillance and trapping Culex mosquitoes. Getting bit up by mosquitoes as a lifeguard for 5 years led me to doubt the efficacy of vector control efforts. The Fritz lab, however, has cleared my skepticism. The threat posed by mosquitoes and other vectors is undeniable; particularly considering the rise of global and local temperatures. The surge in Dengue and West Nile Virus cases within the DMV underscores the need for effective mosquito monitoring to prevent the risk of outbreaks in the future.  

Despite widespread discussions and global awareness of climate change, many people underestimate the urgency of preparing for a hotter world, especially in public health. Learning about how institutions have begun to prepare for vector-borne diseases has been enlightening. I am eager to contribute to the spread of awareness regarding the risks posed by vector-borne diseases in my future career. Overall, I am incredibly grateful to the NEVBD program, along with my mentors Ben Gregory, and Dr. Fritz for their guidance in medical entomology. 

Instead of pondering further on my experiences working with the Fritz lab, I’d rather tell you what exactly I’ve been up to this week!

To prepare for my position as a Lab technician in the fall, I have been assigned to the Culture room! A shared lab in the Department of Entomology where various insects are raised, including the Fritz Lab’s eight Culex pipiens and Cx. quinquefasciatus colonies! Because wild mosquitoes blood feed at night, lab-grown mosquitoes are raised to a reverse day-night cycle, to blood feed the mosquitoes during the day. Therefore, the larva must be tended to in the early morning, around 7- 9 am. As such, my morning drives have gotten a lot prettier.

Sunrise overlooking the University of Maryland Parking lot at 6:45 am.

Each mosquito colony houses 3 to 7 bins containing larvae at different developmental stages. The larval life cycle begins with egg rafts, typically brown or white, laid in plastic cups within a mosquito tent. Each raft produces 200-250 larvae, producing over 1000 larvae per batch. These larvae are transferred to a new bin with fresh reverse osmosis water and fed liver powder. As the larvae grow, they are moved to larger bins to account for their increasing size. After approximately 7-10 days, the larvae transform into pupae. These pupae are then isolated in separate cups within the mosquito tent to allow for adult emergence.

Mosquito tents and larval bins of three of Dr. Fritz colonies. The bottom tents are CAL 1 and CAL 2 and are the mother colonies in the culture room. UME, a colony from Maine is the mosquito tent above.

Within the day-to-day of culture room, I have been primarily tasked with isolating pupae, feeding, and cleaning bins. It has been tough work, especially learning the ins and outs of consolidating, and splitting each larval bin. I now understand true mosquito mayhem.