Kupu’ Aina Corps member Lilli Patton checks a bag for Southern house mosquitoes and sucks them into a plastic tube. Photos courtesy of DLNR
Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project staff trap mosquitoes and study their movements as conservationists prepare to release incompatible male mosquitoes into the wild.
Several times a week, staff check mosquito traps in rural residential areas along the North Shore, hoping to catch as many male Southern house mosquitoes as possible, according to the state Department of Lands and of Natural Resources.
“Before the possible release of incompatible male mosquitoes into areas where they spread avian malaria and kill native forest birds, we need to monitor the success and movement of mosquitoes,” Project coordinator Hanna Mounce explained in a press release Thursday. “We are now working in ‘urban’ environments and hope to duplicate our methods in the mountainous regions of Maui, where Hawaiian kiwikius are on the verge of extinction due to malaria.”
Researchers are hoping for a few cool years, perhaps giving the Maui kiwikiu a bit more time, according to DLNR. However, warmer years could lead to faster bird extinction.
“Our best estimate of kiwikiu extinction time overlaps with our estimate of when mismatched male mosquitoes might be effective on a larger scale in landscapes where the birds reside,” says Mounce.
As on the island of Hawaii and Kauai, where similar work is underway, crew members use two different types of traps – one that uses a fan to suck up mosquitoes and another that uses a foul-smelling liquid stew to attract them. Crew members also experiment with sonic attraction and compare capture rates to their chemical trapping results.
All male mosquitoes captured by the team in fine-mesh bags are sucked into test tubes which will be sent to laboratories for testing.
“High altitude sites are difficult to access, so we conduct our trials low down to determine the best traps and lures to increase our chances of catching male mosquitoes,” said Hillary Foster, natural resource data and GIS technician for the Maui Forest Bird Recovery Project.
Foster works with Kupu members Lilli Patton and Hunter Craft to check out three trap sites around Haiku.
A set of traps sits at the foot of Barbara Plunkett’s Olinda Alley, which was chosen because it’s a mosquito “Mecca” and Plunkett is a friend of Mounce.
“That’s wonderful,” said Plunkett. “I’m happy they’re doing this work and I’m happy to be a small part of the solution. In addition, the MFBRP team showed us how to better control mosquitoes on our property.
Mounce warned that “we can’t put all our faith” In the Incompatible Mosquito Release Project, conservationists also hope to bring existing kiwikiu into captivity to create a viable breeding population.
“If no one stands up for the birds and gives them a voice, the kiwikiu is just a native Hawaiian honey species that will disappear in the next few years,” said Foster. “Everything that happens to our native forest birds is man-made. The birds didn’t ask for avian malaria and they didn’t ask for the invasive ungulates that strip forests down to the ground. I think it is important to help them and to right the wrongs that we have caused them.
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Kupu’ Aina Corps member Lilli Patton checks a bag for Southern house mosquitoes and sucks them into a plastic tube. Photos courtesy of DLNR