To be able to train algorithms to detect and identify mosquito species by their flight tone, we need representative species-specific flight tone data. Therefore, as part of the HumBug project, we are building a comprehensive database of flight tone data recorded from wild captured mosquitoes.
The data collection began back January 2020 and continued throughout the year (despite very challenging circumstances!) and is still ongoing. Mosquitoes have been collected and recorded at multiple sites in Tanzania and DRC and across multiple months, so our data includes the natural variability of species flight tones over time and space. We now have flight tone data for many dominant malaria vector species, including Anopheles gambiae, An. arabiensis, An. coluzzii, An. melas as well as An. paludis (a notable vector in DRC) and An. pharoensis. Other disease vectors are also represented including Aedes aegypti (primary vector of yellow fever) and Ae. albopictus (primary vector of dengue).
We have over 6900 recordings of individual, wild captured mosquitoes from 23 mosquito species and our database continues to grow. This is a fantastic achievement by our colleagues in both DRC and Tanzania. Their efforts will ensure the HumBug species identification algorithms are trained using real mosquito flight tones and consequently are effective in identifying those species in their natural environment.