Mosquito-borne viruses, such as dengue virus (DENV), Zika virus (ZIKV), chikungunya virus (CHIKV), yellow fever virus (YFV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), and West Nile virus (WNV) are major threats to global public health resulting in millions of infections and hundreds of thousands of deaths annually. The presence of these viruses and their increasing emergence/spread continues to escalate. Notably, Usutu virus (USUV; Genus: Flavivirus; Family: Flaviviridae) is one such pathogen currently causing mass die-offs of avian hosts throughout Europe. USUV is categorized in the Japanese Encephalitis virus (JEV) antigenic complex and thus shares many antigenic and pathologic characteristics with fellow members, such as JEV and WNV. Respective to human infections, USUV cases are generally asymptomatic; nonetheless, acute cases have been reported. These acute cases typically cause mild symptoms, such as fevers and rashes; however, more severe cases can result in neurologic diseases, such as encephalitis and/or meningoencephalitis. In addition to these pathologic similarities, USUV shares several ecological and geographical traits with WNV, a pathogen responsible for several outbreaks during its spread from Africa, to Europe, and eventually the United States. Currently, WNV is considered endemic in areas across the United States due to its transmission via Culex spp.; mosquitoes that are ubiquitous in the United States. These parallels suggest the possible emergence of USUV into the United States and therefore, it is imperative to broaden our knowledge of USUV and assess its potential to become a major global health concern. The overall goal of this thesis was to characterize USUV and evaluate its emergence potential in the United States by: (1) developing infectious clones of recent European and African USUV isolates as tools for characterization and analysis of USUV and (2) assessing the transmission potential of several species of North American mosquitoes. In Aim 1, we show that the aforementioned infectious clones infect and replicate similarly to their parental strains in vitro in both vertebrate and invertebrate models, as well as in transiently immunocompromised CD-1 and IFNAR-/- murine models, and thus serve as useful tools for future molecular studies focusing on USUV. Furthermore, in Aim 2, we describe the ability of field-caught (Southwest Virginia, USA) Culex spp. and Aedes spp. mosquitoes to become infected with a recent European isolate of USUV; although, we report an overall limited potential for these species to transmit this virus. Altogether, these studies form a foundation for understanding the potential emergence of USUV in the United States as well as provide necessary tools needed to aid future research on USUV emergence, transmission, and pathogenesis. / Master of Science / Usutu virus (USUV) is an emerging mosquito-borne virus that was first isolated from a mosquito in 1959 in South Africa, and since then, has become a major problem throughout Africa and Europe causing acute to severe infection in dozens of patients. Additionally, this virus is causing massive die-offs in Eurasian blackbird populations. This is particularly problematic because birds play a critical role in ecosystems as they act as forms of pest control, pollinators, and seed dispersers. Depletion of these species could lead to an imbalance and, eventually, collapse of our natural ecosystem. Additionally, there is a growing concern of USUV making its way into the United States, following a similar track of emergence to WNV's introduction in New York in 1999 and its subsequent spread throughout the states. WNV's introduction to the United States was detrimental to native bird populations and humans, and has caused tens of thousands of infections and thousands of deaths since this introduction. Research has shown USUV causes similar disease symptoms to WNV. The self-limiting illness from these viruses typically includes fever and rashes but some infections can result in more severe cases causing inflammation of the brain and surrounding areas. Like many other prominent mosquito-borne viruses, there is no specific treatment or vaccine for WNV or USUV. Because USUV is so closely related to WNV, and their similar characteristics may point towards similar emergence in the United States, it is essential to garner more information on USUV. The overall goal of this thesis was to establish a reliable tool(s) for further characterization of USUV and demonstrate the potential for USUV emergence in the United States. We first developed molecular tools, known as viral clones, that are valuable to the scientific community which allows the manipulation of USUV genetic material to perform further downstream studies. Our objective for this initial study was to create a molecular tool that would behave similarly to their natural, or "parental", virus. The results from this study suggest we have successfully produced these tools. Furthermore, we sought to determine the potential for field-caught mosquitoes from Southwest Virginia, USA to transmit a recently isolated strain of USUV. These data suggest that while these mosquitoes do have the ability to become infected with USUV, they have a limited potential to transmit this virus to animal hosts. Altogether, these studies have allowed us to expand our knowledge on USUV's potential emergence in the United States and develop powerful tools to continue this essential research.

Malaria is vectored by the mosquito Anopheles gambiae (Ag) in Sub-Saharan Africa and infects approximately 500 million people annually. The increasing prevalence of pyrethroid-resistant mosquitoes has amplified the need for development of new, selective mosquitocides for use on insecticide-treated nets. We have developed several phenyl-substituted N-methylcarbamates producing a high degree of selectivity for Anopheles gambiae acetylcholinesterase (AgAChE) over human AChE. Molecular models suggest alternate conformations (flexibility) of W84 and W431 (Ag numbering) at the hydrophobic subpocket of the AgAChE active site and poor flexibility within human AChE, allowing for the high selectivity of our novel carbamates. Initial selectivity data was obtained through screening of these insecticides while using ethanol as a solvent. Re-screening of these carbamates in the presence of 0.1% DMSO (v/v) resulted in antagonism of inhibition for AgAChE, thus reducing the AgAChE-selectivity by at least 10-fold. However, the presence of 0.1% DMSO did not antagonize the inhibition of human, Drosophila melanogaster, or Musca domestica AChE. Non-selective carbamates also displayed no solvent-dependent antagonism of inhibition in any species studied, including AgAChE. Molecular models provide an explanation for antagonism of inhibition when DMSO is present. I, and collaborators, propose that W84 and W431 in AgAChE comprise an allosteric pocket that is stabilized by DMSO and is responsible for the solvent-dependent antagonism of inhibition observed with AgAChE. / Master of Science in Life Sciences

Mosquitoes drink using a pair of in-line muscular pumps in the head that draw liquid food through a long drinking channel termed as proboscis. Experimental investigations of mosquito drinking using synchrotron x-ray indicate two modes of drinking, a predominantly occurring continuous mode in which the anterior cibarial and posterior pharyngeal pumps expand cyclically at a constant phase difference and an isolated burst mode in which the pharyngeal pump expansion is several orders of magnitude larger than in the continuous mode. The objective of this thesis is to explain the mechanics and functional implication of this two-pump dual mode drinking of a mosquito. A reduced order mathematical model suggests that the primary role of the pharyngeal pump is in the burst mode. Since the precise geometry of the pump during drinking is yet not known, the drinking mechanism is modeled using different pump geometries based on morphological constraints in the animal. The model shows the continuous mode as being more effective in terms of energy expenditure, while the burst mode creates a large pressure difference across the proboscis which might be used to clear an obstruction in the channel or prime the channel. The hypothesis regarding the ability of a mosquito to self-clear an obstruction is analyzed by modeling the presence of an air bubble inside the system. The model indicates that air bubbles maybe able to stop flow during continuous mode drinking, and these same bubbles can be cleared by switching temporarily to burst mode drinking. / Master of Science

Mosquitoes affect human health worldwide as a result of their ability to vector multiple diseases. Mosquitocide resistance is a serious public health challenge that warrants the development of improved chemical control strategies for mosquitoes. Previous studies demonstrate the mosquito blood-brain barrier (BBB) to interfere with the target-site delivery and action of anticholinesterase chemistries. The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are efflux proteins that assist in maintaining the BBB interface and serve as a first line of defense to mosquitocide exposures. To date, there are three subfamilies (ABC -B, -C, -G) of ABC transporters; however, knowledge of these chemistries interacting with mosquito ABC transporter(s) is limited. Here, I report that tacrine and bis(7)-tacrine are relative non-toxic anticholinesterases at solubility limits; however, the addition of verapamil enhances toxicity of both tacrine and bis(7)-tacrine to mosquitoes. Verapamil significantly increases the mortality of mosquitoes exposed to tacrine and bis(7)-tacrine compared to the tacrine- and bis(7)- tacrine-only treatments. Tacrine and bis(7)-tacrine reduce acetylcholinesterase activity in mosquito head preparations compared to the untreated mosquitoes; however, the addition of verapamil significantly increases the anticholinesterase activity of tacrine and bis(7)-tacrine compared to the tacrine-and bis(7)-tacrine-only treatments. Tacrine and bis(7)-tacrine increase ATPase activity in Aedes aegypti at lower concentrations compared to that of verapamil (Fig. 3). The differential increase in ATPase activity suggests that tacrine and bis(7)-tacrine are more suitable substrates for ABC transporter(s) compared to verapamil and, thus, provides putative evidence that ABC transporter(s) is a pharmacological obstacle to the delivery of these anticholinesterases to their intended target site. / Master of Science in Life Sciences

Mosquitoes are vectors for many diseases that cause significant mortality and morbidity across the globe such as malaria, dengue fever and Zika. As mosquito populations expand their range into new areas, they may undergo mate-finding Allee effects such that their ability to successfully reproduce becomes difficult at low population densities. With new technology, creating target specific gene modification may now be a viable method for mosquito population control. We develop a mathematical model to investigate the effects of releasing transgenic mosquitoes into newly established low-density mosquito populations. Our model consists of two life stages (aquatic and adult), which are further divided into three genetically distinct groups: heterogeneous and homogeneous transgenic alleles that cause female infertility and a homogeneous wild type. We perform analytical and numerical analyses on the equilibria to determine the level of saturation needed to eliminate mosquitoes in a given area. This model demonstrates the potential for a gene drive system to reduce the spread of invading mosquito populations. / Master of Science

Mosquitoes are considered to be the deadliest animals in the world due to the diseases they spread. Naturally, most research centers around anthropophilic disease vector mosquitoes such as Aedes aegypti or Anopheles gambiae. However, mosquitoes can feed on, and pose a threat to, more than humans. In fact, mosquitoes can specialize in feeding on a wide variety of hosts, including ectotherms such as amphibians and reptiles. Culex territans is a mosquito that feeds primarily on amphibians and reptiles and is known to transmit parasites to its hosts. However, little else is known about this mosquito. This work dives into the biology, physiology, and vector potential of this mosquito species to provide critical insights into understanding the evolution of feeding on endotherms as well as the importance of Cx. territans to amphibian health. The first study investigates activity patterns and feeding behaviors as well as the potential cues that may attract this mosquito to its hosts. We also compare transcriptomics and anatomy of the heads of three Culex species. The second study compares three Culex species' thermopreference and host-seeking to understand the effects of the differences of geographical distribution and preferred hosts. The last three studies determine the presence of ranaviruses, giant anuran trypanosomes, and the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis at Mountain Lake Biological Station and explore the potential role of Cx. territans in transmitting these pathogens. Overall, this work provides insights into the biology of Cx. territans and the implications it may have for understanding endotherm-feeding mosquitoes and amphibian disease epidemiology. / Doctor of Philosophy / We are all familiar with the annoying buzzing sound and itching bite of a mosquito. But mosquitoes are more than irritating: they are considered the deadliest animal in the world because of their ability to spread deadly diseases such as malaria and yellow fever to humans. However, not all mosquitoes bite humans. In fact, mosquitoes can feed on the blood of just about any animal, including worms. This work focuses on Culex territans, the northern frog-biting mosquito, which feeds mostly on the blood of amphibians, like frogs and toads. This fascinating mosquito species is present around the world, living in freshwater ponds alongside frogs, but we know very little about it. For example, how does a frog-biting mosquito find a frog host to bite? Once the mosquito bites, how is it able to feed on cold, thick blood through a tiny straw that makes up its mouthparts? While it is feeding, is it spreading diseases that could harm the frog? Because amphibians are experiencing extinctions worldwide, it is important to know if mosquitoes could be involved in their demise. These questions inspired this work to better understand the biology of Cx. territans and to shed light on the biology of other disease-spreading mosquitoes.

Durante o repasto sanguíneo, os mosquitos hematófagos inoculam os componentes de seu coquetel salivar na pele do hospedeiro podendo causar reações inflamatórias. Existem vários trabalhos que descrevem o infiltrado celular após a picada de mosquito utilizando abordagens clássicas de histologia. No entanto, são escassos os trabalhos que avaliem esse infiltrado celular de maneira quantitativa/qualitativa com técnicas mais modernas. Adicionalmente, a literatura científica carece de modelos simples para o estudo das moléculas envolvidas na migração celular induzida pelos componentes salivares de mosquitos. Diante disto, em um primeiro momento estudamos o infiltrado celular na pele da orelha decorrente da picada do mosquito Aedes aegypti em animais sensibilizados ou não com o extrato da glândula salivar (EGS) destes mosquitos utilizando a técnica de citometria de fluxo. Observamos que enquanto o edema em animais não sensibilizados alcança um pico 6 horas após a exposição aos mosquitos, o mesmo só acontece após 24 horas nos animais sensibilizados, persistindo ainda até 72 horas. A fenotipagem das células imunes presentes no tecido por citometria de fluxo mostrou a complexidade de populações celulares presentes na reação inflamatória à picadas de mosquito, destacando-se o infiltrado de linfócitos B, neutrófilos e eosinófilos que ocorreram em ambos os grupos, porém de maneira mais intensa após 24 horas no grupo sensibilizado. Dentre essas populações, os eosinófilos foram as células que proporcionalmente mais aumentaram em relação àquelas encontradas na orelha de animais naïve. Em uma segunda abordagem, desenvolvemos um modelo de inflamação eosinofílica na cavidade peritoneal de camundongos inoculados com o EGS de A. aegypti. Utilizando esse modelo, fomos capazes de mostrar que a migração de eosinófilos se deve a atividade dos componentes salivares do mosquito e não a uma possível contaminação por endotoxina presentes na preparação. Além disso, a desnaturação das proteínas do EGS aboliu sua capacidade de induzir migração de eosinófilos, reforçando a importância da integridade das moléculas salivares nesse processo. Finalmente, mostramos que a migração de eosinófilos nesse modelo é dependente de IL-5 e de produtos da 5-lipoxigenase. Em conjunto, esses dados contribuem para a caracterização da resposta inflamatória do hospedeiro aos componentes salivares do mosquito A. aegypti e para o entendimento das moléculas envolvidas na reação eosinofílica presente em indivíduos sensibilizados. / During their blood feeding, hematophagous mosquitoes inoculate the components of their salivary cocktail in the host skin causing inflammatory reactions. Several works describe the cellular infiltrate following the mosquito bites using classical histological approaches. However, only few studies evaluate the cellular infiltrate in a quantitative/qualitative manner employing recent techniques. Additionally, the scientific literature lacks simple models to study the molecules involved in cell migration induced by the salivary components of mosquitoes. In view of this facts, we first studied the cellular infiltrate in the skin of the ear following Aedes aegypti mosquito bites in animals sensitized or not with the salivary gland extract (SGE) of these mosquitoes, using the flow cytometry technique. We observed that, while the swelling reached a peak at 6 hours after exposure to mosquitoes in non-sensitized animals, the same occurred only after 24 hours in sensitized animals, and the edema still persisted at 72 hours. Immune cell phenotyping of the tissue by flow cytometry showed the complexity of cell populations present in the inflammatory reaction to mosquito bites, especially the infiltration of B lymphocytes, neutrophils and eosinophils that occurred in both groups, but more intensely after 24 hours in the sensitized group. Among these populations, eosinophils were the cells that most increased proportionally compared those found in the ear of naïve animals. In a second approach, we have developed a model of eosinophilic inflammation in the peritoneal cavity of mice inoculated with the A. aegypti SGE. Using this model, we were able to show that the migration of eosinophils was due to the activity of the mosquito salivary components and not to a possible endotoxin contamination of the preparation. Moreover, the denaturation of SGE proteins abolished its ability to induce eosinophil migration, underscoring the importance of the integrity of salivary molecules in this process. Finally, we showed that the eosinophil migration in this model is dependent on IL-5 and 5-lipoxygenase products. Together, these data contribute to the characterization of the host inflammatory response to salivary components of A. aegypti mosquitoes and to the understanding of the molecules involved in this eosinophilic reaction in sensitized individuals.

Orientador: Jose Luiz Boldrini / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Matematica, Estatistica e Computação Cientifica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-16T08:01:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Araujo_AndersonLuisAlbuquerquede_D.pdf: 2998474 bytes, checksum: 42b9a1d5dce58179e95cafd3db8b57b8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2010 / Resumo: A proliferação de mosquitos em regiões habitadas é uma importante questão de saúde pública, uma vez que tais insetos são vetores de várias doenças infecciosas. Assim, o estudo de técnicas de controle de populações de mosquitos tem um papel relevante na busca da eficiência no seu combate; em particular, a compreensão adequada de modelos matemáticos que descrevem tais situações pode auxiliar na tomada de decisão sobre quais seriam os procedimentos mais adequados para atingir este fim. Com este objetivo, neste trabalho fizemos a análise matemática rigorosa de um certo problema de controle ótimo associado a uma equação diferencial parcial que modela o crescimento e a difusão de uma população de mosquitos em uma região dada. Analisamos o problema de controlar tal população através da aplicação de inseticida por uma unidade volante de pulverização, buscando trajetórias ótimas a serem seguidas por esta unidade a fim de minimizar um certo funcional que envolve tanto a população total quanto os custos da operação / Abstract: The proliferation of mosquitoes in inhabited regions is an important public health issue since these insects are vectors of several infectious diseases. Thus, the study of techniques for controlling of mosquito populations has an important role in the quest for efficient combat techniques; in particular, the adequate understanding of mathematical models that describe such situations may help in the decision process of finding appropriate procedures to attain that. With this goal, in this work we performed a rigorous mathematical analysis of a certain optimal control problem associated to a partial differential equation modeling the growth and spreading of the mosquito population in a given region. We analyze the problem of controlling such population through the application of insecticide by a spraying unit; our objective is to search for optimal paths to be followed by this unit in order to minimize a certain functional that involves both the whole mosquito population and the operational costs / Doutorado / Analise Matematica / Doutor em Matemática

Introdução: Armadilhas automáticas entomológicas são ferramentas importantes para a vigilância e controle de espécies de mosquitos vetoras. Vários estudos mostraram que a armadilha CDC com CO2 + Lurex® e a CDC luminosa são efetivas para a amostragem de culicídeos. A Mosquito Magnet® foi comparada com diferentes métodos de coletas, incluindo a isca humana, para amostragem de mosquitos vetores. Como resultado, a armadilha tem demonstrado boa capacidade de amostragem. No presente estudo, a eficácia da Mosquito Magnet® Independence foi comparada com as armadilhas CDC luminosa e a CDC com atrativos, mas sem luz. As coletas foram realizadas em áreas rurais no sudeste do bioma de Mata Atlântica. Objetivo: Comparar a eficácia da armadilha Mosquito Magnet® Independence + Lurex3® com a da CDC luminosa e da CDC com CO2 + Lurex3®. Métodos: As armadilhas foram instaladas em três locais diferentes durante três dias consecutivos em áreas rurais do município de Iguape, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, de janeiro a junho de 2012. As armadilhas foram colocadas diariamente às 6h00 pm (ou 7h00 pm, durante os dias de horário de verão) e removidas às 6h00 am (ou 7h00 horas durante os dias de horário de verão). Para avaliar a eficácia das armadilhas para coleta de culicídeos, utilizamos os perfis de diversidade da Rényi, além de outros índices de diversidade, ou seja, riqueza, abundância, dominância, equabilidade e similaridade. Resultados: A armadilha Mosquito Magnet® coletou 53,84 por cento do total (19.016 indivíduos) de mosquitos obtidos com as três armadilhas. Por outro lado, a CDC luminosa obteve os maiores índices de diversidade de Margalef e Shannon. O índice de Pielou mostrou que as espécies se distribuem de maneira mais uniforme quando empregado o uso da armadilha CDC com atrativos. No entanto, a Mosquito Magnet® obteve o maior índice de dominância. O teste de Kruskal-Wallis mostrou diferença significativa apenas para os índices de riqueza observados na série de Rényi. O teste de Bonferroni apontou que apenas a armadilha Mosquito Magnet® apresentou diferença significativa em relação à CDC luminosa (p=6e-05). Os índices de similaridade apontaram maiores semelhanças entre as espécies coletadas pelas armadilhas Mosquito Magnet® e CDC com atrativos. Conclusões: O presente estudo mostrou que é possível coletar número elevado de espécimes de culicídeos com a Mosquito Magnet® Independence em áreas rurais no sudeste de São Paulo. Apesar da armadilha CDC não coletar uma grande abundância de culicídeos é considerado um método de coleta apropriado e indicado para os serviços de saúde, devido a sua funcionalidade e facilidade de transporte. No entanto, os resultados do presente estudo mostraram que a Mosquito Magnet® é mais eficaz do que a CDC luminosa e CDC com CO2 + Lurex3® para as atividades de vigilância entomológica. / Introduction: Automatic entomological traps are important tools for surveillance and control of mosquito vector species. Several studies showed both CDC trap with CO2 plus Lurex3® and CDC light trap to be effective for sampling mosquito species. The Mosquito Magnet® trap was compared with different collecting methods, including human landing, for sampling mosquito vectors. As a result, the former trap was demonstrated to have good sampling capacity. In the present study, efficacy of the Mosquito Magnet® Independence was compared with those of CDC light trap and CDC trap with CO2 plus Lurex3®, but no light. Collections were carried out in rural areas within the southeast Atlantic Forest biome. Objective: to compare the efficacy of a Mosquito Magnet® Independence plus Lurex3® with a CDC light trap and CDC trap with CO2 plus Lurex3®. Methods: Traps were installed in three different locations during three consecutive days in rural areas of the Iguape municipality, São Paulo state, Brazil. The traps were placed daily at 6h00 pm (or 7h00 pm during the summer day light savings) and removed at 6h00 am (or 7h00 am during the summer day light savings). To assess efficacy of the traps for collecting mosquito species, we employed the Rényis diversity profiles, in addition to other diversity indexes, i.e., richness, abundance, dominance, evenness, and similarity. Results: The Mosquito Magnet® trap collected 53.84 per cent of the total number (19,016 individuals) of mosquitoes obtained with all three traps. On the other hand, the CDC trap obtained the highest diversity indexes of Margalef and Shannon. The evenness index showed that species were distributed more evenly when using the CDC trap with CO2 and Lurex3®. However, the Mosquito Magnet® had the highest dominance index. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed a significant difference in the indexes of richness observed in the Rényi profile index. The Bonferroni test demonstrated that only the Mosquito Magnet® trap has a significant difference relative to the CDC light trap (p = 6e-05). The similarity index showed more resemblance between species collected by Mosquito Magnet® Independence and CDC trap with CO2 and Lurex3®. Conclusions: The present study shows that it is possible to collect large numbers of specimen with the Mosquito Magnet® Independence trap in rural areas in southeastern São Paulo State. In spite of the fact that the CDC trap did not abundantly collect mosquitos, it is considered an appropriate collecting method used by health service organizations because of its practicality and ease of transportation. However, results of the present study showed that the Mosquito Magnet® Independence is more effective than both CDC light trap and CDC with CO2 and Lurex3® for entomological surveillance.

Introdução: Armadilhas automáticas entomológicas são ferramentas importantes para a vigilância e controle de espécies de mosquitos vetoras. Vários estudos mostraram que a armadilha CDC com CO2 + Lurex® e a CDC luminosa são efetivas para a amostragem de culicídeos. A Mosquito Magnet® foi comparada com diferentes métodos de coletas, incluindo a isca humana, para amostragem de mosquitos vetores. Como resultado, a armadilha tem demonstrado boa capacidade de amostragem. No presente estudo, a eficácia da Mosquito Magnet® Independence foi comparada com as armadilhas CDC luminosa e a CDC com atrativos, mas sem luz. As coletas foram realizadas em áreas rurais no sudeste do bioma de Mata Atlântica. Objetivo: Comparar a eficácia da armadilha Mosquito Magnet® Independence + Lurex3® com a da CDC luminosa e da CDC com CO2 + Lurex3®. Métodos: As armadilhas foram instaladas em três locais diferentes durante três dias consecutivos em áreas rurais do município de Iguape, Estado de São Paulo, Brasil, de janeiro a junho de 2012. As armadilhas foram colocadas diariamente às 6h00 pm (ou 7h00 pm, durante os dias de horário de verão) e removidas às 6h00 am (ou 7h00 horas durante os dias de horário de verão). Para avaliar a eficácia das armadilhas para coleta de culicídeos, utilizamos os perfis de diversidade da Rényi, além de outros índices de diversidade, ou seja, riqueza, abundância, dominância, equabilidade e similaridade. Resultados: A armadilha Mosquito Magnet® coletou 53,84 por cento do total (19.016 indivíduos) de mosquitos obtidos com as três armadilhas. Por outro lado, a CDC luminosa obteve os maiores índices de diversidade de Margalef e Shannon. O índice de Pielou mostrou que as espécies se distribuem de maneira mais uniforme quando empregado o uso da armadilha CDC com atrativos. No entanto, a Mosquito Magnet® obteve o maior índice de dominância. O teste de Kruskal-Wallis mostrou diferença significativa apenas para os índices de riqueza observados na série de Rényi. O teste de Bonferroni apontou que apenas a armadilha Mosquito Magnet® apresentou diferença significativa em relação à CDC luminosa (p=6e-05). Os índices de similaridade apontaram maiores semelhanças entre as espécies coletadas pelas armadilhas Mosquito Magnet® e CDC com atrativos. Conclusões: O presente estudo mostrou que é possível coletar número elevado de espécimes de culicídeos com a Mosquito Magnet® Independence em áreas rurais no sudeste de São Paulo. Apesar da armadilha CDC não coletar uma grande abundância de culicídeos é considerado um método de coleta apropriado e indicado para os serviços de saúde, devido a sua funcionalidade e facilidade de transporte. No entanto, os resultados do presente estudo mostraram que a Mosquito Magnet® é mais eficaz do que a CDC luminosa e CDC com CO2 + Lurex3® para as atividades de vigilância entomológica. / Introduction: Automatic entomological traps are important tools for surveillance and control of mosquito vector species. Several studies showed both CDC trap with CO2 plus Lurex3® and CDC light trap to be effective for sampling mosquito species. The Mosquito Magnet® trap was compared with different collecting methods, including human landing, for sampling mosquito vectors. As a result, the former trap was demonstrated to have good sampling capacity. In the present study, efficacy of the Mosquito Magnet® Independence was compared with those of CDC light trap and CDC trap with CO2 plus Lurex3®, but no light. Collections were carried out in rural areas within the southeast Atlantic Forest biome. Objective: to compare the efficacy of a Mosquito Magnet® Independence plus Lurex3® with a CDC light trap and CDC trap with CO2 plus Lurex3®. Methods: Traps were installed in three different locations during three consecutive days in rural areas of the Iguape municipality, São Paulo state, Brazil. The traps were placed daily at 6h00 pm (or 7h00 pm during the summer day light savings) and removed at 6h00 am (or 7h00 am during the summer day light savings). To assess efficacy of the traps for collecting mosquito species, we employed the Rényis diversity profiles, in addition to other diversity indexes, i.e., richness, abundance, dominance, evenness, and similarity. Results: The Mosquito Magnet® trap collected 53.84 per cent of the total number (19,016 individuals) of mosquitoes obtained with all three traps. On the other hand, the CDC trap obtained the highest diversity indexes of Margalef and Shannon. The evenness index showed that species were distributed more evenly when using the CDC trap with CO2 and Lurex3®. However, the Mosquito Magnet® had the highest dominance index. The Kruskal-Wallis test showed a significant difference in the indexes of richness observed in the Rényi profile index. The Bonferroni test demonstrated that only the Mosquito Magnet® trap has a significant difference relative to the CDC light trap (p = 6e-05). The similarity index showed more resemblance between species collected by Mosquito Magnet® Independence and CDC trap with CO2 and Lurex3®. Conclusions: The present study shows that it is possible to collect large numbers of specimen with the Mosquito Magnet® Independence trap in rural areas in southeastern São Paulo State. In spite of the fact that the CDC trap did not abundantly collect mosquitos, it is considered an appropriate collecting method used by health service organizations because of its practicality and ease of transportation. However, results of the present study showed that the Mosquito Magnet® Independence is more effective than both CDC light trap and CDC with CO2 and Lurex3® for entomological surveillance.