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Thanks & Summary

I wanted to thank everyone who made this internship possible for me! Thank you to NEVBD-TEC and the staff there including Emilie M Gray and Emily Mader. Thank you to Tadhgh Rainey for hosting me in Flemington! “Dyakuyu” or дякую to Jack Petersen for guiding me through the world of Aedes albopictus, Natular SC, and of course Ukrainian, Polish, etc. I also wanted to thank the rest of Hunterdon County Vector Control, Nick, Marty, and Lexi, for teaching me all about treating the river, gravid traps, light traps, etc! I truly enjoyed all aspects of this internship from lab work on mosquito larvae to black fly field work. I thought that I would give a quick summary of everything I learned this summer! I completed 4 bioassays on Aedes albopictus larvae with different concentrations of Natular SC in 250mL of water. We collected data to create Probit analysis curves using computer software to estimate an LD50 (ours averaged around 0.5 to 0.7 microliters/Liter). We then started taking these estimates outside to treat larger amounts of larval habitat (about 5L). I also gained knowledge on mosquito identification in larval form as well as adult form through microscope work. I created permanent microscope slides using mosquito larvae from our different trials to use as voucher specimens. I also experienced the daily life of mosquito and vector control including setting and collecting gravid traps with stink water, collecting light traps, and treating the river for black fly. I also was able to go to smaller creeks and streams throughout Hunterdon County to collect black fly samples throughout the county. I appreciate all of these experiences because I feel I was able to apply concepts from the classroom and have a better understanding of science applications in the real world. I will be returning to Villanova University at the end of this week to continue my undergraduate degree in Biochemistry, but I will now be able to take everything I learned throughout these ten weeks with me!

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