Longevity of Anopheles maculipennis race atroparvus, van Thiel, at controlled Temperature and Humidity after one Blood Meal

1939 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. S. Leeson
Keyword(s):  
Blood Meal ◽  
Small Proportion ◽  
Feeding Period ◽  
Anopheles Maculipennis ◽  
Culex Fatigans ◽  
Temperature And Humidity ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Blood Meals

From January to July 1938, experiments with Anopheles maculipennis race atroparvus, Van Thiel, were undertaken to discover whether humidity and the age at which the females fed influenced their longevity. It was found that they lived longer at higher than at lower humidities; that most of the females which fed did so in the first three days; that those which fed on the second day after emergence lived longer than those which fed at other ages; and that the feeding period was slightly extended in the later experiments, though only a small proportion lived long enough to take their first blood meals on the fourth and fifth days.Rather more than 50 per cent. of each batch of newly emerged adults were females.A large proportion of the deaths of unfed males and females occurred during the first three days, most of them on the second day; this mortality decreased in successive experiments.Culex fatigans, Wied., behaved similarly.

scholarly journals Understanding mosquito host-choice behaviour: a new and low-cost method of identifying the sex of human hosts from mosquito blood meals

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiona Teltscher ◽  
Sophie Bouvaine ◽  
Gabriella Gibson ◽  
Paul Dyer ◽  
Jennifer Guest ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Meal ◽  
Host Species ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Host Choice ◽  
Epidemiological Models ◽  
Choice Behaviour ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
Transmission Models ◽  
Blood Meals

Abstract Background Mosquito-borne diseases are a global health problem, causing hundreds of thousands of deaths per year. Pathogens are transmitted by mosquitoes feeding on the blood of an infected host and then feeding on a new host. Monitoring mosquito host-choice behaviour can help in many aspects of vector-borne disease control. Currently, it is possible to determine the host species and an individual human host from the blood meal of a mosquito by using genotyping to match the blood profile of local inhabitants. Epidemiological models generally assume that mosquito biting behaviour is random; however, numerous studies have shown that certain characteristics, e.g. genetic makeup and skin microbiota, make some individuals more attractive to mosquitoes than others. Analysing blood meals and illuminating host-choice behaviour will help re-evaluate and optimise disease transmission models. Methods We describe a new blood meal assay that identifies the sex of the person that a mosquito has bitten. The amelogenin locus (AMEL), a sex marker located on both X and Y chromosomes, was amplified by polymerase chain reaction in DNA extracted from blood-fed Aedes aegypti and Anopheles coluzzii. Results AMEL could be successfully amplified up to 24 h after a blood meal in 100% of An. coluzzii and 96.6% of Ae. aegypti, revealing the sex of humans that were fed on by individual mosquitoes. Conclusions The method described here, developed using mosquitoes fed on volunteers, can be applied to field-caught mosquitoes to determine the host species and the biological sex of human hosts on which they have blood fed. Two important vector species were tested successfully in our laboratory experiments, demonstrating the potential of this technique to improve epidemiological models of vector-borne diseases. This viable and low-cost approach has the capacity to improve our understanding of vector-borne disease transmission, specifically gender differences in exposure and attractiveness to mosquitoes. The data gathered from field studies using our method can be used to shape new transmission models and aid in the implementation of more effective and targeted vector control strategies by enabling a better understanding of the drivers of vector-host interactions.

A simple method for marking haematophagous insects during the act of feeding

1963 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. H. Knight ◽  
H. A. W. Southon
Keyword(s):  
Aqueous Solution ◽  
Blood Meal ◽  
Trypan Blue ◽  
The Other ◽  
Fresh Blood ◽  
Glossina Morsitans ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Narrow Strip ◽  
Chromatographic Procedure ◽  
Blood Meals

Blood-meals of two species of haematophagous insects, Glossina morsitans Westw. and Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (L.), have been ‘ marked ’ by allowing groups of adults to feed on an ox to which an aqueous solution containing 4 g. of trypan blue had previously been administered intravenously. The dyestuff is detected by a paper chromatographic procedure in which the blood-meal, mixed with 0·1N NaOH, is applied to a narrow strip of Whatman No. 1 chromatographic filter paper and the chromatogram is developed in 0·1N NaOH. Under these conditions, trypan blue remains at the origin, whereas the other coloured components of the blood-meal move away from the point of application. The duration of the mark in the ox and in the insects has been examined. The trypan blue was detected in four out of six fresh blood-meals of Glossina taken 38 days after injection of the dye into the ox, in six out of six examples of Glossina examined two days after blood-meals taken 24 days after the injection, in four out of six examples of Glossina examined eight days after blood-meals taken immediately following the injection, in six out of six examples of Aedes one day after blood-meals taken 14 days after the injection and in six out of six examples of Aedes two days after blood-meals taken immediately following the injection.

scholarly journals Assessing the blood-host plasticity and dispersal rate of the malaria vector Anopheles coluzzii

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Orsborne ◽  
Luis Furuya-Kanamori ◽  
Claire L. Jeffries ◽  
Mojca Kristan ◽  
Abdul Rahim Mohammed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Meal ◽  
Disease Transmission ◽  
Blood Feeding ◽  
Host Choice ◽  
Anopheles Coluzzii ◽  
Dispersal Rate ◽  
Blood Digestion ◽  
Novel Method ◽  
Blood Meal Digestion ◽  
Blood Meals

AbstractDifficulties with observing the dispersal of insect vectors in the field have hampered understanding of several aspects of their behaviour linked to disease transmission. Here, a novel method based on detection of blood-meal sources is introduced to inform two critical and understudied mosquito behaviours: plasticity in the malaria vector’s blood-host choice and vector dispersal. Strategically located collections of Anopheles coluzzii from a malaria-endemic village of southern Ghana showed statistically significant variation in host species composition of mosquito blood-meals. Trialling a new sampling approach gave the first estimates for the remarkably local spatial scale across which host choice is plastic. Using quantitative PCR, the blood-meal digestion was then quantified for field-caught mosquitoes and calibrated according to timed blood digestion in colony mosquitoes. We demonstrate how this new ‘molecular Sella score’ approach can be used to estimate the dispersal rate of blood-feeding vectors caught in the field.

scholarly journals Blood meal analysis: host-feeding patterns of biting midges (Diptera, Ceratopogonidae, Culicoides Latreille) in Slovakia

Parasite ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 58
Author(s):  
Zuzana Kasičová ◽  
Andrea Schreiberová ◽  
Andrea Kimáková ◽  
Alica Kočišová
Keyword(s):  
Blood Meal ◽  
Lepus Europaeus ◽  
Host Feeding ◽  
Apodemus Flavicollis ◽  
Small Rodents ◽  
Biting Midges ◽  
Culicoides Obsoletus ◽  
Blood Meal Analysis ◽  
Trophic Preferences ◽  
Blood Meals

Biting midges of the genus Culicoides are vectors of important pathogens affecting domestic and wild animals and have played a major role in the re-emergence of new outbreaks of bluetongue (BTV) and Schmallenberg (SBV) viruses in Europe. To determine vector-host specificity, trophic preference from blood meal analysis is of major importance in the surveillance of arthropod-borne diseases. Of 28,752 specimens collected, we identified 17 Culicoides species and investigated a total of 48 host sequences from the blood meals. Culicoides obsoletus/C. scoticus, C. dewulfi, C. pulicaris, C. lupicaris, C. punctatus, C. newsteadi, C. riethi, and C. furcillatus were found to feed on mammals (cattle, horses, and humans), birds (domestic chickens), small rodents (Apodemus flavicollis), and hares (Lepus europaeus). To our knowledge, this is the first study investigating trophic preferences of Culicoides spp. in Slovakia. This study demonstrated that Culicoides species are able to feed on domesticated host vertebrates as well as birds, rodents, and humans.

scholarly journals Tsetse blood-meal sources, endosymbionts and trypanosome-associations in the Maasai Mara National Reserve, a wildlife-human-livestock interface

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. e0008267
Author(s):  
Edward Edmond Makhulu ◽  
Jandouwe Villinger ◽  
Vincent Owino Adunga ◽  
Maamun M. Jeneby ◽  
Edwin Murungi Kimathi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Blood Meal ◽  
Glossina Pallidipes ◽  
Tsetse Fly ◽  
Tsetse Flies ◽  
African Buffalo ◽  
African Trypanosomiasis ◽  
African Trypanosomes ◽  
Sodalis Glossinidius ◽  
Vertebrate Hosts ◽  
Blood Meals

African trypanosomiasis (AT) is a neglected disease of both humans and animals caused by Trypanosoma parasites, which are transmitted by obligate hematophagous tsetse flies (Glossina spp.). Knowledge on tsetse fly vertebrate hosts and the influence of tsetse endosymbionts on trypanosome presence, especially in wildlife-human-livestock interfaces, is limited. We identified tsetse species, their blood-meal sources, and correlations between endosymbionts and trypanosome presence in tsetse flies from the trypanosome-endemic Maasai Mara National Reserve (MMNR) in Kenya. Among 1167 tsetse flies (1136 Glossina pallidipes, 31 Glossina swynnertoni) collected from 10 sampling sites, 28 (2.4%) were positive by PCR for trypanosome DNA, most (17/28) being of Trypanosoma vivax species. Blood-meal analyses based on high-resolution melting analysis of vertebrate cytochrome c oxidase 1 and cytochrome b gene PCR products (n = 354) identified humans as the most common vertebrate host (37%), followed by hippopotamus (29.1%), African buffalo (26.3%), elephant (3.39%), and giraffe (0.84%). Flies positive for trypanosome DNA had fed on hippopotamus and buffalo. Tsetse flies were more likely to be positive for trypanosomes if they had the Sodalis glossinidius endosymbiont (P = 0.0002). These findings point to complex interactions of tsetse flies with trypanosomes, endosymbionts, and diverse vertebrate hosts in wildlife ecosystems such as in the MMNR, which should be considered in control programs. These interactions may contribute to the maintenance of tsetse populations and/or persistent circulation of African trypanosomes. Although the African buffalo is a key reservoir of AT, the higher proportion of hippopotamus blood-meals in flies with trypanosome DNA indicates that other wildlife species may be important in AT transmission. No trypanosomes associated with human disease were identified, but the high proportion of human blood-meals identified are indicative of human African trypanosomiasis risk. Our results add to existing data suggesting that Sodalis endosymbionts are associated with increased trypanosome presence in tsetse flies.

scholarly journals Malaria parasite immune evasion and adaptation to its mosquito host is influenced by the acquisition of multiple blood meals

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyeogsun Kwon ◽  
Rebekah A. Reynolds ◽  
Maria L. Simões ◽  
George Dimopoulos ◽  
Ryan C. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Blood Meal ◽  
Blood Feeding ◽  
Parasite Development ◽  
Protein Meal ◽  
Infected Blood ◽  
Adult Lifespan ◽  
Multiple Blood ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Immune Detection ◽  
Blood Meals

AbstractA minimum of two blood meals are required for a mosquito to acquire and transmit malaria, yet Anopheles mosquitoes frequently obtain additional blood meals during their adult lifespan. To determine the impact of subsequent blood-feeding on parasite development in Anopheles gambiae, we examined rodent and human Plasmodium parasite infection with or without an additional non-infected blood meal. We find that an additional blood meal significantly reduces P. berghei immature oocyst numbers, yet does not influence mature oocysts that have already begun sporogony. This is in contrast to experiments performed with the human parasite, P. falciparum, where an additional blood meal does not affect oocyst numbers. These observations are reproduced when mosquitoes were similarly challenged with an artificial protein meal, suggesting that parasite losses are due to the physical distension of the mosquito midgut. We provide evidence that feeding compromises the integrity of the midgut basal lamina, enabling the recognition and lysis of immature P. berghei oocysts by the mosquito complement system. Moreover, we demonstrate that additional feeding promotes P. falciparum oocyst growth, suggesting that human malaria parasites exploit host resources provided with blood-feeding to accelerate their growth. This contrasts experiments with P. berghei, where the size of surviving oocysts is independent of an additional blood meal. Together, these data demonstrate differences in the ability of Plasmodium species to evade immune detection and adapt to utilize host resources at the oocyst stage, representing an additional, yet unexplored component of vectorial capacity that has important implications for transmission of malaria.

scholarly journals Probe-based multiplex qPCR identifies blood-meal hosts in Anopheles mosquitoes from Papua New Guinea

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B Keven ◽  
Georgia Artzberger ◽  
Mary L. Gillies ◽  
Rex B. Mbewe ◽  
Edward D. Walker
Keyword(s):  
Papua New Guinea ◽  
Quantitative Pcr ◽  
Blood Meal ◽  
New Guinea ◽  
Molecular Probe ◽  
Conventional Pcr ◽  
Anopheles Mosquitoes ◽  
Mixed Blood ◽  
Host Blood ◽  
Blood Meals

Abstract Background: Determination of blood-meal hosts in blood-fed female Anopheles mosquitoes is important for evaluating vectorial capacity of vector populations and assessing effectiveness of vector control measures. Sensitive molecular methods are needed to detect traces of host blood in mosquito samples, to differentiate hosts, and to detect mixed host blood meals. This paper describes a molecular probe-based quantitative PCR for identifying blood-meal hosts in Anopheles malaria vectors from Papua New Guinea. Methods: TaqMan oligonucleotide probes targeting specific regions of mitochondrial or nuclear DNA of the three primary Anopheles blood-meal hosts, humans, pigs and dogs, were incorporated into a multiplex, quantitative PCR which was optimized for sensitivity and specificity. Results: Amplification of serially diluted DNA showed that the quantitative PCR detected as low as 10-5 ng/ml of host DNA. Application to field-collected, blood-fed Anopheles showed that the quantitative PCR identified the vertebrate hosts for 89% (335/375) of mosquitoes whereas only 55% (104/188) of blood-meal samples tested in a conventional PCR were identified. Of the 104 blood-fed Anopheles that were positive in both PCR methods, 16 (15.4%) were identified as mixed blood meals by the quantitative PCR whereas only 3 (2.9%) were mixed blood meals by the conventional PCR. Conclusions: The multiplex quantitative PCR described here is sensitive at detecting low DNA concentration and mixed host DNA in samples and useful for blood-meal analysis of field mosquitoes, in particular mixed-host blood meals.

scholarly journals Mating and blood-feeding induce transcriptome changes in the spermathecae of the yellow fever mosquito Aedes aegypti

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina Camargo ◽  
Yasir H. Ahmed-Braimah ◽  
I. Alexandra Amaro ◽  
Laura C. Harrington ◽  
Mariana F. Wolfner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aedes Aegypti ◽  
Blood Meal ◽  
Transcriptional Response ◽  
Blood Feeding ◽  
Sperm Storage ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Gene Products ◽  
Heme Peroxidase ◽  
Males And Females

Abstract Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the primary vectors of numerous viruses that impact human health. As manipulation of reproduction has been proposed to suppress mosquito populations, elucidation of biological processes that enable males and females to successfully reproduce is necessary. One essential process is female sperm storage in specialized structures called spermathecae. Aedes aegypti females typically mate once, requiring them to maintain sperm viably to fertilize eggs they lay over their lifetime. Spermathecal gene products are required for Drosophila sperm storage and sperm viability, and a spermathecal-derived heme peroxidase is required for long-term Anopheles gambiae fertility. Products of the Ae. aegypti spermathecae, and their response to mating, are largely unknown. Further, although female blood-feeding is essential for anautogenous mosquito reproduction, the transcriptional response to blood-ingestion remains undefined in any reproductive tissue. We conducted an RNAseq analysis of spermathecae from unfed virgins, mated only, and mated and blood-fed females at 6, 24, and 72 h post-mating and identified significant differentially expressed genes in each group at each timepoint. A blood-meal following mating induced a greater transcriptional response in the spermathecae than mating alone. This study provides the first view of elicited mRNA changes in the spermathecae by a blood-meal in mated females.

A SEX PHEROMONE IN THE INSECT RHODNIUS PROLIXUS (HEMIPTERA: REDUVIIDAE)

1971 ◽  
Vol 103 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. F. Baldwin ◽  
A. G. Knight ◽  
K. R. Lynn
Keyword(s):  
Sex Pheromone ◽  
Blood Meal ◽  
Rhodnius Prolixus ◽  
Volatile Substance ◽  
Pheromone Production ◽  
Complete Darkness ◽  
Actual Contact ◽  
Nocturnal Species ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Meal Feeding

AbstractIn Rhodnius, a volatile substance produced by mating pairs is attractive to male insects. The pheromone acts also as a sexual stimulant; males respond in the absence of females by attempting copulation with other males. Air swept over mating pairs and conducted to a cage at a considerable distance proved to be highly attractive to males. Proximity of the sexes, without opportunity for actual contact, does not stimulate production of the pheromone. Since males and females will copulate only after a blood meal, feeding is a prerequisite to pheromone production. Also, unfed males will not respond to the attractant. Males of this nocturnal species were stimulated only in complete darkness.

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