Table 1 Prior information on putative vector species

Ae. aegypti

- Some strains found to be capable of infection during laboratory trials, other strains resistant or highly incompetent [38,39,40,41,42]

- D. immitis found in field-collected strains in Florida [43] and Argentina (non-infective stage; 64)

- Species presence negatively associated with dog heartworm transmission in US [25]

Found in nearly all bioregions but at relatively low abundance

High rates of dog-biting found in field-collected individuals from TX [45], but unknown in CA

Ae. albopictus

- D. immitis identified in field-collected adults in FL [46], GA [47], LA [48], NC [17], and OK [16]

- Low and high (strain-specific) vector competence found in lab and field studies [17, 49,50,51]

- Species presence negatively associated with dog heartworm transmission in US [25]

Found only in the Klamath and South Coast bioregion and at low abundance

Moderate to high rates of dog-biting in Eastern and Midwestern US [52,53,54,55], but unknown in CA

Ae. sierrensis

- D. immitis infection in field-collected adults have been found at both low and high rates in Northern and Southern CA [56,57,58]

- Species presence positively associated with dog heartworm transmission in Northern CA [59] and US [25]

Found in nearly all bioregions but at relatively low abundance

Low to moderate rates of dog-biting on field-collected and experimental adults in CA [56, 60,61,62]

Ae. vexans

- Prevalence of D. immitis in field-collected individuals was found to be high in Northern CA, AR, and MN [56, 63, 64], and moderate in Southern CA [65]

- High vector competence found in laboratory studies using adults from MN [66]

Found in nearly all bioregions, at low to moderate abundance

High rates of dog-biting in experimental populations in CA [56] and field-collected populations in WI [67]

An. freeborni

- High vector competence found during lab studies on collections from Northern CA [68, 69] and SC [70]

- Moderate rates of D. immitis prevalence in field-collected adults in Northern CA [58]

Found in nearly all bioregions. Abundant in Northern, but not Southern CA

Low to moderate rates of dog-biting in field-collected adults in Northern CA [60, 61]

Cs. incidens

- Lab studies found low [68], moderate [71], and high [57] vector competence for adults from CA

- D. immitis found in field-collected adults in Southern [65] but not Northern [68] CA

Found in nearly all bioregions, at low to moderate abundance

Low rates of dog-biting found in natural populations from Northern CA [61], but found to readily bite dogs during experimental exposures with adults from Northern and Southern CA [57, 68]

Cs. inornata

- Low vector competence found in lab studies using adults from Northern CA [68]

- Naturally infected at moderate rates in Southern CA [65] and high rates in AR [63]

Found in nearly all bioregions, but at relatively low abundance

Low rates of dog-biting in Northern CA [61]

Cx. quinquefasciatus

- High rates of infection in field-collected adults found in AR [63], low rates of infection with non-infective stage found in LA [72] and AL [73]

- Low vector competence in laboratory experiments using adults from Asia [41, 50], Haiti [74], and Brazil [14, 75]

- Species presence positively associated with dog heartworm transmission in US [25]

Found in nearly all bioregions. Abundant in Southern CA

Low to moderate rates of natural dog-biting in Southern CA [76, 77]

Cx. tarsalis

- D. immitis prevalence in field-collected adults was low in Northern CA [58], but high in Southern CA [65]

- Low vector competence found in laboratory studies using adults from CA [68] and MN [66]

Found in all bioregions at high abundance

Low to moderate rates of natural dog-biting in Northern CA [60, 61] and moderate rates in Southern CA [76]