All biological fields have been impacted by technological advances in the past 25 years. None has developed faster than DNA sequencing and bioinformatics, leading to a deep understanding of the biology and genetics of non-model organisms relevant to public health, agriculture and socio-economics. Currently, full genome annotations of more than 150 insects have been publicly released (mostly Diptera and Hymenoptera)(Li et al., 2019), as well as extensive population data to account for field diversity in an effort to control malaria (1000 Genomes Consortium)(Miles et al., 2017). While there have been great advances in insect vector genomics and the field is continuously developing, the ability to easily obtain and retrieve sequencing and ‘omics’ data allows for the design of targeted gene manipulation of organisms and enables further exploration of gene function, genetic networks and interactions between vectors and the pathogens they transmit.

Genetic manipulation of arthropods of medical and economic importance has always been and continues to be a challenge in the entomological field. Classic vector genome modification techniques (Table 6.1) date back to the 1990s, when viral or plasmid expression vectors (baculovirus: Maeda et al., 1985; SINV: Higgs et al., 1995; plasmid: Cornel et al., 1997) and transposonmediated integration (P-element: Miller