The mosquito pupae sex-sorting machine operates approximately 17 times faster and with fewer errors than humans, significantly reducing the mosquito population.
The mosquito pupae sex-sorting machine. (Video: Jun-Tao Gong).
A team of engineers and pest control experts in China has developed a machine capable of sorting the sex of 16 million mosquito pupae per week. In a study published in the journal Science Robotics on July 31, the team describes how they designed and built the sorting machine and details its operation during testing.
Mosquitoes carry various viruses, including Zika, West Nile, Chikungunya, dengue fever, and parasites such as those causing malaria. Therefore, scientists are seeking and implementing effective methods to reduce the mosquito population in areas prone to disease outbreaks.
One such method involves breeding millions of sterile male mosquito pupae and releasing them into the wild. The sterile pupae mature, replacing normal male mosquitoes, and mate with female mosquitoes, resulting in fewer viable mosquito larvae, thus reducing the overall mosquito population. However, this method requires that the female mosquitoes produced during breeding are not released into the wild. Consequently, the pupae need to be sex-sorted.
Currently, this process is inefficient as it is done manually. In the new study, expert Jun-Tao Gong from Guangzhou Wolbaki Biotechnology Company and colleagues developed an automated machine. It operates approximately 17 times faster and with fewer errors than humans. The research team reports that the machine is equipped with a specialized sorting lens, capable of collecting and sorting millions of pupae each day, amounting to around 16 million pupae each week.
The machine equipped with a specialized sorting lens can collect and sort millions of pupae each day.
Due to variations in the development process of mosquito larvae from different batches, the sorting machine is adjusted for each batch at the start of the sex-sorting process to optimize accuracy. The specifications are adjusted, including the angle of the external sorting lens, through a touchscreen on the control panel. After that, the sex-sorting process occurs automatically until all pupae are sorted.
The research team tested the machine on two mosquito species in several areas of Guangzhou. They reported that the use of the sorting machine significantly reduced the mosquito population in the region. During testing, they also observed that the device was very easy to operate, and one person could run multiple machines simultaneously. Some machines have been sold to customers in Italy, France, the United States, and Mexico.
