Operation Big Buzz was a U.S. militaryentomological warfare field test conducted in 1955 onSavannah,Georgia's predominantly Black Carver Village neighborhood.[1] The tests involved dispersing over 300,000 mosquitoes from aircraft and through ground dispersal methods.
The test appears to have been conducted by theChemical Corps and the Army's Research and Development Command.[2]
Operation Big Buzz occurred in June 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 theyellow fever mosquito (though these were not infected for the test) (Aedes aegypti).[3] The second goal of the operation was to determine whether themosquitoes would survive their dispersion and seek meals on the ground.[3] Around 330,000 uninfected mosquitoes were dropped from aircraft inE14 bombs and dispersed from the ground inSavannah,Georgia's predominantly Black Carver Village neighborhood.[1] In total about one million female mosquitoes were bred for the testing;[4] remaining mosquitoes were used in munitions loading and storage tests.[3] Those mosquitoes that were air-dispersed were dropped from airplanes 300 feet (91 m) above the ground, spreading out on their own and due to the wind.[3]
Mosquitoes were collected as far away as 2,000 feet (610 m) from the release site.[3] They were also active in seekingblood meals from humans andguinea pigs.[3]