Operation Big Buzz

Operation Big Buzz was a U.S. military entomological warfare field test conducted in the U.S. state of Georgia in 1955. The tests involved dispersing over 300,000 mosquitoes from aircraft and through ground dispersal methods.

Operation
Operation Big Buzz occurred in May 1955 in the U.S. State of Georgia. The operation was a field test designed to determine the feasibility of producing, storing, loading into munitions, and dispersing from aircraft the yellow fever mosquito (though these were not infected for the test) (Aedes aegypti). The second goal of the operation was to determine whether the mosquitoes would survive their dispersion and seek meals on the ground. Around 330,000 uninfected mosquitoes were dropped from aircraft in E14 bombs and dispersed from the ground. In total about one million female mosquitoes were bred for the testing; remaining mosquitoes were used in munitions loading and storage tests. Those mosquitoes that were air-dispersed were dropped from airplanes 300 ft above the ground, spreading out on their own and due to the wind.

Results
Mosquitoes were collected as far away as 2000 ft from the release site. They were also active in seeking blood meals from humans and guinea pigs.