177 - Aerial deployment of IIT mosquitoes in Hawai‘i to suppress the non-native Southern house mosquito for endangered forest bird conservation

The Insect Incompatibility Technique (IIT) is increasingly being used worldwide to suppress mosquitoes for human health benefits. The controlled release of Wolbachia-infected mosquitoes has proven effective in reducing wild, disease-carrying mosquitoes in urban areas as well as at the wildland/urban interface. In Hawai‘i, mosquito suppression is urgently needed to reduce non-native Culex quinquefasciatus mosquitoes that vector avian malaria because they are driving multiple, endemic forest bird species toward extinction. Wolbachia IIT applications performed by an interagency partnership called Birds, Not Mosquitoes have started on Haleakalā, Maui, where due to the remoteness and terrain comprising the species' wildland habitat, helicopters must be used to deploy the mosquitoes. While helicopters provide a practical platform to perform this work, a primary goal of the Birds, Not Mosquitoes project is to drive innovation in the use of Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) toward release of IIT Culex mosquitoes into some of the least accessible areas of Hawai‘i. While the project is currently in a 3000 acre trial phase, the ultimate aim is to conduct larger-scale, IIT mosquito deployment using UAS aircraft beyond line of sight (BVLOS). We provide an overview of the Maui aerial IIT operation, its tools, regulatory pathways, and future steps necessary for expanding operations across the state.