Abstract: Determining treatment thresholds for mosquito vectors is an important and ongoing area of research. Although mosquito control districts often have deep institutional knowledge about the patterns and distributions of important mosquito species at a given time period, data driven predictions of abundances often are not available, despite the potential to use routine surveillance trap collections combined with remotely sensed environmental variables to calibrate models. One potential barrier to understanding the potential for model based approaches is a lack of awareness about and training on the utility of model outputs to help inform treatment thresholds. Adding to this challenge is that several modeling approaches exist and inconsistencies in interpretation of output maps can sometimes lead to confusion. Here, we will outline two modeling approaches, providing applied examples, that can be used to provide information about the distribution and abundances of mosquito species under static and dynamic environmental conditions. First, we will outline the utility of species distribution models to predict where habitats may be suitable for mosquito vectors. Second, we will provide an example of a spatiotemporal modeling approach that incorporates time series data. Examples of the different components of these models, including input data, landscape and climate data, model predictions, and interpretation of mapped results will be highlighted.
