Presentation of the ‘boosted Sterile Insect Technique’ concept

Males of Aedes albopictus are coated with pyriproxyfen (red circles) and then released by air. They mate with wild females that will in turn contaminate their larval habitats. In order to avoid contaminating the colony, males must be coated in a release center separated from the mass rearing facility.

The larval tray rearing system for the Ae. albopictus illustration represents the system presently used at the Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint FAO/IAEA Programme of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, Vienna, Austria (http://www-naweb.iaea.org/nafa/ipc/public/IPC-NL-82.pdf).

The photo of the gyrocopter shows the machine presently used to release Glossina palpalis gambiensis by Kalahari aerodrome, Saly, Senegal in the framework of a national tsetse elimination campaign (http://www.fao.org/news/story/pt/item/211898/icode/). It is equipped with the smart release machine, the most advanced release machine from the Mubarqui group, Cuidad Victoria, Mexico (ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a1195e/a1195e08.pdf). For large areas, this machine can be installed onboard small planes.