The sterile insect technique (SIT) and its related technologies are considered to be a powerful weapon for fighting against mosquitoes. As an important part of the area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programs, SIT can help reduce the use of chemical pesticides for mosquito control, and consequently, the occurrence of insecticide resistance. The mosquito SIT involves several important steps, including mass rearing, sex separation, irradiation, packing, transportation, release and monitoring. To enable the application of SIT against mosquitoes to reduce vector populations, the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Centre (previously called Division) of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture (hereinafter called Joint FAO/IAEA Centre) and its Insects Pest Control sub-program promoted a coordinated research project (CRP) entitled “Mosquito handling, transport, release and male trapping methods” to enhance the success of SIT. This article summarizes the existing explorations that are critical to the handling and transporting of male mosquitoes, offers an overview of detailed steps in SIT and discusses new emerging methods for mosquito releases, covering most processes of SIT.

The geographic boundaries of arboviruses continue to expand, posing a major health threat to millions of people around the world. This expansion is related to the availability of effective vectors and suitable habitats. Armigeres subalbatus (Coquillett, 1898), a common and neglected species, is of increasing interest given its potential vector capacity for Zika virus. However, potential distribution patterns and the underlying driving factors of Ar. subalbatus remain unknown. In the current study, detailed maps of their potential distributions were developed under both the current as well as future climate change scenarios (SSP126 and SSP585) based on CMIP6 data, employing the MaxEnt model. The results showed that the distribution of the Ar. subalbatus was mainly affected by temperature. Mean diurnal range was the strongest predictor in shaping the distribution of Ar. subalbatus, with an 85.2% contribution rate. By the 2050s and 2070s, Ar. subalbatus will have a broader potential distribution across China. There are two suitable expansion types under climate change in the 2050s and 2070s. The first type is continuous distribution expansion, and the second type is sporadic distribution expansion. Our comprehensive analysis of Ar. subalbatus’s suitable distribution areas shifts under climate change and provides useful and insightful information for developing management strategies for future arboviruses.