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Mortality of American white pelican (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) chicks attributed to West Nile virus (WNV) prompted field studies on the bionomics of mosquitoes on a wildlife refuge in northern Montana. One component of these studies was to identify blood meal sources for Culex tarsalis, the primary vector of WNV in the region, and the potential bridge vectors Aedes vexans and Culiseta inornata. To accomplish this, 3 methods were evaluated to collect bloodfed mosquitoes: a gasoline powered aspirator, CO2-baited light traps, and fiber pots in shelterbelts consisting of stands of deciduous trees and shrubs and marshes along the lake edge. Fiber pots were also deployed in open fields of prairie grasses. Overall, fiber pots were the most efficient method for collecting engorged Cx. tarsalis and Cs. inornata, largely due to shorter sampling and processing times. Aedes vexans was not collected in fiber pots but was more abundant in aspiration samples than the other 2 species. The optimal location for collecting Cx. tarsalis was dependent on trapping method. Aspirations and fiber pot placements collected more Cx. tarsalis in shelterbelts, while CO2-baited light traps collected more Cx. tarsalis in the marsh habitat. Sixteen avian and 4 mammalian hosts were identified from bloodfed Cx. tarsalis with 46 blood meals derived from birds and 49 from mammals. Aedes vexans and Cs. inornata fed predominantly on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and cattle (Bos taurus), respectively. Humans were identified as hosts in 33% of engorged Cx. tarsalis, 4% of engorged Ae. vexans, and 18% of engorged Cs. inornata.

The stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), is a cosmopolitan species of blood-feeding Muscidae and an important pest of cattle. Although the cattle industry is the largest commodity in Montana, no research has been conducted on the abundance, distribution, or impact of stable flies in the state. Observations of stable flies attacking West Nile virus (family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus, WNV) -infected pelicans on a refuge in close proximity to pastured and confined cattle provided an opportunity to describe stable fly phenology in a mixed agricultural-wildlife ecosystem. Coroplast cards used to monitor and compare adult populations in three habitats (peninsula, pasture, confinement lot) located within 1.5-4.5 km of each other revealed that temporal dynamics differed by site. Adult abundance was generally lowest at the confinement lot, the only location where larval development was identified. Stable flies were collected on all traps placed in pasture, with traps adjacent to pastured cattle consistently collecting the most. Adults also were collected on the peninsula supporting the pelicans' nesting site, but whether the potential hosts or physical landscape served as an attractant is unclear. At all three sites, data indicated that overwintering was not successful and that a transition occurred from early season immigrating adults that used suitable local larval development substrates to subsequent autochthonous populations.