Survival of insects in the wheel bays of a Boeing 747B aircraft on flights between tropical and temperate airports

Abstract

Mosquitos (Culex quinquefasciatus), house flies (Musca domestica), and flour beetles (Tribolium confusum) located in cages within the wheel bays of a Boeing 747B aircraft, survived travel on the following normal commercial routes: Sydney-Melbourne; Melbourne-Singapore; Singapore-Bangkok; Bangkok-Singapore; and Singapore-Melbourne. Survival of all three species was high, averaging 84% for mosquitos and higher for flies (93%) and beetles (>99%). Although external temperatures were -42 degrees C to -54 degrees C for aircraft cruising at 10 700-11 900 m, minimum temperatures within the wheel bays ranged from +8 degrees C to +25 degrees C.