Gunter Muller

Two new species of the genus Sonitha Zolotuhin & Prozorov, 2010 are described from the Congolian lowland forests: Sonitha sophia sp. n. and Sonitha sara sp. n. Sonitha alucard Zolotuhin & Prozorov, 2010 is recorded from Central African Republic for the first time, and its paratype is reattributed to Sonitha sophia sp. n. Adults, male genitalia and...

A new genus Chryseacampa gen. n. with Chryseacampa evani sp. n. (type-species) and Chryseacampa ralphyi sp. n. are described. Detailed diagnosis for the new genus is provided and compared with three closely related genera: Pachymetana Strand, 1912; Mallocampa Aurivillius, 1902; and Dollmania Tams, 1930. Male and female genitalia of Pachymetana cust...

The article describes a new species, Afrikanetz foucauldi sp. nov. (type locality: South Algeria, Hoggar Mts.) (Lepidoptera, Cossidae: Cossinae). The descriptions are provided with a detailed diagnosis and illustrations.

Genitalia of the female holotype of the Central Asian species Furcula terminata (Wiltshire, 1958) (TL: northeastern Afghanistan) were studied for the first time. They showed a clear similarity with the genitalia of Furcula gorbunovi Schintlmeister, 1998 (TL: Gissar Range, Tajikistan) and Furcula mimonovi Schintlmeister, 1998 (TL: Karakalpakstan, Uz...

Seven genera and seven species of Lasiocampidae are newly recorded from the Zanzibar Island (Unguja): Bombycopsis C. & R. Felder, 1874 with Bombycopsis nigrovittata Aurivillius, 1927; Pallastica Zolotuhin & Gurkovich, 2009 with an unidentified species; Dollmania Tams, 1930 with an unidentified species; Mallocampa Aurivillius, 1902 with Mallocampa l...

Five off the shelf commercially available flea traps were tested for their efficacy against the cat/dog flea Ctenocephalides felis. Two traps were significantly better at catching fleas than the remaining three which performed very poorly. It is presumed that the unique combination of attractive features of the best performing Flea Catcher trap are...

A new genus Vavizola gen. n. and a new species Vavizola hela sp. n. are described from southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. They belong to the former so-called “Pachypasa sensu lato” group. Morphology of the new genus is compared with 5 other genera from the group and the full-length sequences of cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) are compared w...

Five new species of the genus Miltochrista Hübner, [1819] are described: Miltochrista kravchenkoi sp. n. (Myanmar: Chin State), Miltochrista velona sp. n. (NW Myanmar, SW China (Sichuan) and N Vietnam), Miltochrista pachia sp. n. (NW Myanmar: Chin State), Miltochrista ekliptika sp. n. (Myanmar: Kachin and Chin States), and Miltochrista tinsukia sp....

Two new species of the genus Cyana Walker, 1854 are described: Cyana triapotamia sp. n. (northern Myanmar: Kachin State, and Southwest China: Yunnan) and Cyana meiomena sp. n. (Southwest China: Yunnan, and Northern Vietnam). Both the new species belong to the Cyana divakara (Moore, [1866]) species complex within the Cyana dohertyi (Elwes, 1890) spe...

The article updates the status of the three valid taxa of the genus Streblote Hübner, 1820 from the Malay Archipelago. The species Streblote castanea (Swinhoe, 1892) was described from an unstated location in the Philippines. Presently this species is recorded from 8 major Philippine islands: Cebu, Luzon, Mindanao, Mindoro, Negros, Palawan, Panay,...

The Algerian-Tunisian Lemonia philopalus (Donzel, 1842) is reviewed and redescribed. The status of the Moroccan population named Lemonia philopalus rungsi Rougeot 1971 (type locality: Morocco, Merchouch) is revised, it is taken from the synonymy to the Iberian population and left as a subspecies of L. philopalus until the genetic relationship betwe...

The species Lemonia taraxaci (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1755) is divided into three species based on distribution areas and cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) distances above 2%: Central European Lemonia taraxaci (type locality: Austria, Vienna area), Eastern European to South Siberian Lemonia sibirica Wnukowsky, 1934 stat. rev., bona sp. (type loc...

The Mali National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) recently established a phased set of goals for eliminating malaria in Mali by 2030. Over the past decade, the scale-up of NMCP-led malaria control interventions has led to considerable progress, as evidenced by multiple malariometric indicators. The West Africa International Center of Excellence in M...

This article highlights over a decade of signature achievements by the West Africa International Centers for Excellence in Malaria Research (WA-ICEMR) and its partners toward guiding malaria prevention and control strategies. Since 2010, the WA-ICEMR has performed longitudinal studies to monitor and assess malaria control interventions with respect...

Fifty-three species of Cerambycidae were collected in Mali between 2014 and 2020 as by-catches within NIH and IVCC projects for malaria vector ecology and control, 42 of them are new records for the country. An updated list of 89 species of cerambycid beetles of Mali is presented. Two species, Niphotragulus occidentalis Breuning, 1977 and Sophronic...

The synonymy between Pachypasa otus (Drury, 1777) and P. otus fulvescens Kotzsch, 1932 is supported by the lack of any stable morphologic characters and average distance of 0.3% in the cytochrome C oxidase (COI) gene between the Balkan (n = 4) and the Levantine (n = 2) populations. The Iranian population is described as a new species, Pachypasa hau...

Background Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) target night-time indoor biting mosquitoes and effectively reduce malaria transmission in rural settings across Africa, but additional vector control tools are needed to interrupt transmission. Attractive targeted sugar baits (ATSBs) attract and kill mosquitoes, in...

Two new species of the genus Siccia Walker, 1854 are described from West Africa: S. kravchenkoi Volynkin, Müller, Prozorov & Saldaitis, sp. n. (southern Mali) and S. kabadougou Volynkin, sp. n. (north-western Ivory Coast). Adults, male and female genitalia of the new and similar species are illustrated.

The article describes three Pterophoridae species new to science, from Ethiopia: Platyptilia anjuta Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich sp. nov., Platyptilia roberti Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich sp. nov. and Stenoptilia monikae Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich sp. nov. We give new faunal data on the distribution of the species previously unknown for Ethiopia.

Background Long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs) and indoor residual spraying (IRS) target night-time indoor biting mosquitoes and effectively reduce malaria transmission in rural settings across Africa, but additional vector control tools are needed to interrupt transmission. Attractive targeted sugar baits (ATSBs) attract and kill mosquitoes, in...

Seven new species of the Afrotropic Lasiocampidae genus Rhynchobombyx are described and illustrated: Rh. gavinfilippone Prozorov, Saldaitis & Müller sp. n., Rh. avadomenicarocchio Prozorov, Saldaitis & Müller sp. n., Rh. julianjameseaton Prozorov, Saldaitis & Müller sp. n., Rh. anthonychristophereaton Prozorov, Saldaitis & Müller sp. n., Rh. nicola...

The second species of the genus Typhonoya Prozorov 2011—T. kravchenkoi Prozorov, Müller & Zolotuhin sp. n. from the Democratic Republic of the Congo is described. A previously monotypic genus becomes bitypic. One paratype specimen was collected in the buffer zone of the southern part of the Salonga National Park during a one year-long stationary ex...

Ancylogastra Bassi & Poltavsky gen. n. is described to accommodate Cypholomia amphiaula Meyrick, 1934 (as A. amphiaula, comb. n.) and seven new species, all described and illustrated, as: A. boireaui Bassi & Sáfián sp. n., A. burundiana Bassi sp. n., A. coronata Bassi sp. n., A. endroedyi Bassi sp. n., A. gangraensis Bassi, Sáfián, Müller & †Kravch...

Background Application methods of |Attractive Toxic Sugar Baits (ATSB) need to be improved for wide-scale use, and effects on non-target organisms (NTOs) must be assessed. The goals of this study were to determine, at the village level, the effect of different configurations of bait stations to (1) achieve < 25% Anopheles mosquito vector daily feed...

A total of 216 species that occur in Israel are presented with distributional data (with maps), habitat, phenology, host-plants and genetic data. A complete checklist is presented (Synopsis 1). 50 species are deleted from the Israeli species list (see Synopsis 2), 63 species with records from closely adjacent areas are mentioned as potentially also...

Background: Attractive targeted sugar baits (ATSBs) are a promising new tool for malaria control as they can target outdoor-feeding mosquito populations, in contrast to current vector control tools which predominantly target indoor-feeding mosquitoes. Methods: We sought to estimate the potential impact of these new tools on Plasmodium falciparum ma...

Background Attractive Toxic Sugar Baits (ATSBs) successfully reduced Anopheles mosquito vector populations and malaria parasite transmission in Mali but application methods need to be improved for wide-scale use, and minimization of effects on non-target organisms (NTOs) must be assessed. The goals of this study were to determine on a village level...

Background Attractive Toxic Sugar Baits (ATSBs) successfully reduced Anopheles mosquito vector populations and malaria parasite transmission in Mali, but application methods need to be improved for wide-scale use, and effects on non-target organisms (NTOs) must be assessed. The goals of this study were to determine on a village level the effect of...

Current methods of broad area application of contact insecticides used in mosquito control are becoming less effective, primarily due to resistance within mosquito populations. New methods that can deliver ingestible insecticides are being investigated as a means to mitigate resistance. This study evaluated insecticide delivery through toxic sugar...

Background: The aim of this field trial was to evaluate the efficacy of attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSB) in Mali, where sustained malaria transmission occurs despite the use of long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). ATSB bait stations were deployed in seven of 14 similar study villages, where LLINs were already in widespread use. The combined...

Background Current tools and strategies are not sufficient to reliably address threats and outbreaks of arboviruses including Zika, dengue, chikungunya, and yellow fever. Hence there is a growing public health challenge to identify the best new control tools to use against the vector Aedes aegypti. In this study, we investigated Ae. aegypti sugar f...

Bioassays and molecular diagnostics are routinely used for the monitoring of malaria vector populations to support insecticide resistance management (IRM), guiding operational decisions on which insecticides ought to be used for effective vector control. Previously developed TaqMan assays were optimised to distinguish the wild-type L1014 from the k...

The potential for use of attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSB) in vector control is very promising. While vector control strategies focus largely on indoor measures, such as long-lasting insecticide treated nets (LLINs) and indoor residual sprays (IRS), ATSB methods exploit the need for mosquitoes and other biting Diptera to feed frequently on outdoo...

Seventy-nine taxa of Pyraloidea were collected in 2014 with light traps in the woody savannah zone south of Bamako, Mali. Three taxa out of 79 were identified to genus level only. 78 of the 79 species are new records for Mali, 17 are new for West Africa. Most species (54) belong to the subfamily Spilomelinae (family Crambidae). The majority of obse...

The Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ridges are located in the middle of a narrow "Mediterranean ecozone" corridor stretching along the Levantine coast. Both ridges are high enough to feature a complete range of altitude zones, which includes an alpine tragacanth belt (> 2000 m a.s.l.). The southernmost part of the Anti-Lebanon ridge is situated in the nor...

Background Residual malaria transmission has been reported in many areas even with adequate indoor vector control coverage, such as long-lasting insecticidal nets (LLINs). The increased insecticide resistance in Anopheles mosquitoes has resulted in reduced efficacy of the widely used indoor tools and has been linked with an increase in outdoor mala...

Attractive toxic sugar bait (ATSB) was applied to 5 different types of commonly found plants in landscaping of northeastern Florida. The ATSB applications were assessed for possible plant effects and preference against Aedes albopictus in semifield evaluations. Positive and negative controls consisted of plants sprayed with attractive sugar bait (n...

Background Dual attractant toxic sugar baits (D-ATSB) containing two host kairomones, L-lactic (LA) and 1-octen-3-ol (O), and fruit-based attractants were evaluated through olfactory, consumption and mortality, and semi-field experiments to determine if host kairomones could first, enhance attraction of a fruit-based (attractant) toxic sugar bait (...

To overcome the limitations of currently used window entry/exit traps, we developed an efficient new glue net entry/exit trap (GNT) that is economical, easily transported and assembled, and can be utilized for a variety of studies which aim to investigate the dynamics of mosquito movements between indoor and outdoor habitats. Cage experiments were...

The project goal was to determine how a new vector control strategy that targets the sugar-feeding behavior of mosquitoes, attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSBs), can be used to more effectively control West Nile virus (WNV) vectors in the Coachella Valley, California. Three laboratory studies were conducted to determine the utility of this method fo...

Background Knowledge of Anopheles resting habitats is needed to advance outdoor malaria vector control. This study presents a technique to map locations of resting habitats using high-resolution satellite imagery (world view 2) and probabilistic Dempster-Shafer (D-S) modelling, focused on a rural village in southern Mali, West Africa where field sa...

Studies were conducted to determine if pyriproxyfen, an insect growth regulator (IGR) added to attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSBs) and ingested by adult Aedes albopictus (Skuse), could be fecally disseminated into water to inhibit emergence of mosquitoes (EI). Experimental treatments consisted of four dilutions of pyriproxyfen (0.5, 1, 5, and 10 p...

The distribution of Aedes albopictus in Africa has thus far been known to be restricted to coastal Sub-Saharan countries. This report describes the first record of the tiger mosquito in habitats located in Mali, at a significant distance from the coastal areas of the continent. Aedes albopictus was observed over several years in increasing frequenc...

An annotated checklist of the Noctuoidea of Jordan with remarks on ecology, phenology and zoogeography. Part VI. ABSTRACT Within the framework of the German-Israeli Lepidoptera Fauna of the Levant project during 1998–2010, a list of the presently known species of the Plusiinae (12 species), Acontiinae (10), Bryophilinae (10), Heliothinae (8), Metop...

The development of insecticide resistance and the increased outdoor-biting behaviour of malaria vectors reduce the efficiency of indoor vector control methods. Attractive toxic sugar baits (ATSBs), a method targeting the sugar-feeding behaviours of vectors both indoors and outdoors, is a promising supplement to indoor tools. The number and configur...

The persistence and geographical expansion of leishmaniasis is a major public health problem that requires the development of effective integrated vector management strategies for sand fly control. Moreover, these strategies must be economically and environmentally sustainable approaches that can be modified based on the current knowledge of sand f...

A complete list of all known Noctuinae species of Jordan is presented and, the biogeography, phenology and distribution of the species is discussed. Within a German-Israeli project to monitor the Lepidoptera Fauna of the Levant we recorded from 1986 to 2010 a total of 44 species, three of which are new records for the country [Agrotis margelanoides...

We tested the efficacy of attractive toxic sugar bait (ATSB) with garlic oil microencapsulated in beta-cyclodextrin as active ingredient against Aedes albopictus in suburban Haifa, Israel. Two three-acre gardens with high numbers of Ae. albopictus were selected for perimeter spray treatment with ATSB and ASB (bait containing no active ingredient)....

The extensive survey in different regions of Ethiopia between 1987-1990 and 2005-2011 resulted in the recognition of 39 species of Plusiinae. The majority of the species belong to two large genera, Ctenoplusia (15 species) and Thysanoplu-sia (16 species). A new synonymy is established, Plusiotricha gorilla (Holland, 1894) is proved to represent the...

A complete list of the presently known Hadeninae of Jordan is presented, and the biogeography, phenology and distribution of the same are discussed. Within a German - Israeli project to monitor the Lepidoptera Fauna of the Levant we record from 1986 to 2010 a total of 39 species, ten of which (26%) are new records for the country. In Jordan four tr...

The type of Lasiocampa decolorata (KLUG, 1830), collected in 1820, was successfully barcoded to generate a 658bp COI-fragment after 194 years. The resulting molecular data allowed the description of two closely related species from Morocco: Lasiocampa hannae SPEIDEL, MOOSER &WITT sp. n. from the Anti Atlas and Lasiocampa editae SPEIDEL, MOOSER &WIT...

Attractive toxic sugar bait (ATSB) solutions containing any gut toxins can be either sprayed on plants or used in simple bait stations to attract and kill sugar-feeding female and male mosquitoes. This field study in Mali demonstrates the effect of ATSB bait stations inside houses as a vector control method that targets and kills endophilic African...

A complete list of the presently known Xyleninae species of Jordan is presented, and the biogeography, phenology and distribution of the same are discussed. Within a German - Israeli project to monitor the Lepidoptera Fauna of the Levant we record from 1986 to 2010 a total of 84 species, 33 of which (39%) are new records for the country. In Jordan...

A checklist of 67 Israeli species of families Oecophoridae (17 species), Autostichidae (16), Depressariidae (25), Cryptolechiidae (3), and Lecithoceridae (6) is presented. The checklist is based on material collected by the authors in 2003 in Israel and existing published records. Eight species are new records for the fauna of Israel:

Bacillus sphaericus is a mosquito-larvae pathogen which proliferates in the host cadavers, spreading and preserving the infection within the larval habitats for prolonged periods. In this pilot field study, we presented B. sphaericus-containing attractive sugar baits (ASB) to wild Anopheles sergentii adults, with the assumption that bait-fed, B. sp...

A complete list of the presently known species of Cuculliinae and Oncocnemidinae of Jordan is presented, and the biogeography, phenology and distribution of the same are discussed. Within a German - Israeli project to monitor the Lepidoptera Fauna of the Levant we recorded from 1986 to 2010 a total of eleven species of Cuculliinae and 28 species of...

The species composition of testate amoebae was studied for the first time in the northern and central parts of Israel. One hundred and eight species and infra-species taxa of Testacea belonging to 18 genera and 10 families were identified in 68 samples. The materials were collected along a transect in the Mediterranean phyto-geographical region of...