Abstract
Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are predominantly daytime-feeding mosquito species that breed in urban settlements and transmit viral and nematode diseases. Females can feed on a broad range of vertebrate hosts for oogenesis. Research on host-feeding behavior and patterns is important to better understand the transmission cycles of most mosquito-borne diseases and to develop better protection measures. This study investigated the host feeding patterns of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus through both artificial blood feeding and natural feeding techniques and assessed the effect of these methods on mosquito fecundity. Laboratory colonies of both mosquitoes fed on blood from five different hosts (bird, mouse, human, sheep and cow). The artificial blood feeding system consisted of a glass condenser with blood attached to a water bath with warm water circulation and insects fed through a stretched Parafilm membrane over the bottom of the condenser. Natural feeding experiments were performed with paper cups that contained the mosquitoes and were placed over the host’s skin for one hour. In the natural feeding method, Ae. aegypti females mostly fed on humans, while in the artificial blood feeding method, they fed on birds. Both human and bird blood sources yielded the highest number of eggs, larvae and pupae for Ae. aegypti. Aedes albopictus preferred humans in the natural feeding method and mice in the artificial blood feeding method. Similarly, egg, larvae and pupae productivity from humans and mice were also high for Ae. albopictus. Both species preferred the artificial feeding method. Our findings show that different blood meal sources and methods affect mosquito fecundity. Such laboratory studies on mosquito feeding patterns can reveal the feeding preference of important vectors and provide vital information for understanding vector and host interactions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data Availability
Available upon request.
References
Akiner MM, Demirci B, Babuadze G, Robert V, Schaffner F (2016) Spread of the invasive mosquitoes Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in the Black Sea region increases risk of chikungunya, dengue, and Zika outbreaks in Europe. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 10(4):e0004664. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0004664
Akoh JF, Aigbodion M, Kumbak D (1992) Studies on the effect of larval diet, adult body weight, size of blood-meal and age on the fecundity of Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae). Int J Trop Insect Sci 13(2):177–181. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1742758400014326
Alcaide M, Ruiz S, Soriguer R, Muñoz J, Figuerola J (2009) Disentangling vector-borne transmission networks: A universal DNA barcoding method to identify vertebrate hosts from arthropod bloodmeals. PLoS ONE 5(10):10. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0007092
Becker N, Petric D, Zgomba M, Boase C, Dahl C, Madon M, Kaiser A (2010) Mosquitoes and their control. Springer, Berlin
Bennett GF (1970) The influence of the blood meal type on the fecundity of Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti L. (Diptera: Culicidae). Can J Zool 48(3):539–543. https://doi.org/10.1139/z70-090
Benzon G (1987) An electrically heated membrane blood-feeding device for mosquito colony maintenance. J Am Mosquito Contr Assoc 3:322–324
Börstler J, Jöst H, Garms R, Krüger A, Tannich E, Becker N, Schmidt-Chanasit J, Lühken R (2016) Host-feeding patterns of mosquito species in Germany. Parasit Vectors 9:318. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-016-1597-z
Briegel H (1990) Fecundity, metabolism, and body size in Anopheles (Diptera: Culicidae), vectors of malaria. J Med Entomol 27(5):839–850. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmedent/27.5.839
Chaves LF, Harrington LC, Keogh CL, Nguyen AM, Kitron U (2010) Blood feeding patterns of mosquitoes: random or structured? Front Zool 7(3):1–11. https://doi.org/10.1186/1742-9994-7-3
Clemens AN (1992) The biology of mosquitoes. Development, nutrition and reproduction. CABI Publishing, London
Cosgrove JB, Wood RJ (1996) Effects of variations in a formulated protein meal on the fecundity and fertility of female mosquitoes. Med Vet Entomol 10(3):260–264. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2915.1996.tb00740.x
Dias LC, Bauzer LGSR, Lima JSB (2018) Artificial blood-feeding for Culicidae colony maintenance in laboratories: does the blood source condition matter? Rev Inst Med Trop São Paulo 60:45–48. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1678-9946201860045
Edman JD, Scott TW (1987) Host defensive behavior and the feeding success of mosquitoes. Int J Trop Insect Sci 8:617–622
Faraji A, Egizi A, Fonseca DM, Unlu I, Crepeau T, Healy SP, Gaugler R (2014) Comparative host feeding patterns of the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, in urban and suburban northeastern USA and implications for disease transmission. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 8:303–308. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0003037
Ganushkina LA, Patraman IV, Rezza G, Migliorini L, Litvinov SK, Sergiev VP (2016) Detection of Aedes aegypti, Aedes albopictus, and Aedes koreicus in the Area of Sochi, Russia. Vector Borne Zoonot Dis 16(1):58–60. https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2014.1761
Goodman H, Egizi A, Fonseca DM, Leisnham PT, LaDeau SL (2018) Primary blood-hosts of mosquitoes are influenced by social and ecological conditions in a complex urban landscape. Parasit Vectors 11:218. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-018-2779-7
Govindarajan M, Sivakumar R, Rajeswary M, Yogalakshmi K (2013) Chemical composition and larvicidal activity of essential oil from Ocimum basilicum (L.) against Culex tritaeniorhynchus, Aedes albopictus and Anopheles subpictus (Diptera: Culicidae). Exp Parasitol 134(1):7–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exppara.2013.01.018
Greenberg J (1949) A method for artificially feeding mosquitoes. Mosq News 9(2):48–50
Gunathilaka NT, Ranathunge T, Udayanga L, Abeyewickreme W (2017) Efficacy of blood sources and artificial blood feeding methods in the rearing of Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae) for sterile insect technique and incompatible insect technique approaches in Sri Lanka. Biomed Res Int 9(2):40–47. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/3196924
Hernandez-Colina A, Gonzalez-Olvera M, Lomax E, Townsend F, Maddox A, Hesson JC, Sherlock K, Ward D, Eckley L, Vercoe M, Lopez J, Baylis M (2021) Blood-feeding ecology of mosquitoes in two zoological gardens in the United Kingdom. Parasit Vectors 14:249–259. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-04735-0
Hurd H (2003) Manipulation of medically important insect vectors by their parasites. Annu Rev Entomol 48(1):141–161. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.48.091801.112722
Islam M, Ferdousi Z (2006) Impacts of vertebrate blood meals on reproductive performance, female size and male mating competitiveness in the mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus Say (Diptera: Culicidae). SSRN Electron J 25:315–325
Kilpatrick AM, Kramer LD, Jones MJ, Marra PP, Daszak P (2006) West Nile virus epidemics in North America are driven by shifts in mosquito feeding behavior. PLoS Biol 4:82–86. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.0040082
Kovendan K, Murugan K, Naresh Kumar A, Vincent S, Hwang JS (2012) Bioefficacy of larvicidal and pupicidal properties of Carica papaya (Caricaceae) leaf extract and bacterial insecticide, spinosad, against chikungunya vector, Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae). Parasitol Res 110(2):669–678. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2540-z
Kraemer MUG, Reiner RCJR, Brady OJ, Messina JP, Gilbert M, Pigott DM et al (2019) Past and future spread of the arbovirus vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus. Nat Microbiol 4:854–863. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41564-019-0376-y
Lwande OW, Obanda V, Lindström A, Ahlm C, Evander M, Näslund J, Bucht G (2020) Globe-trotting Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus: Risk factors for arbovirus pandemics. Vector Borne Zoonot Dis 20:71–81. https://doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2019.2486
Munoz J, Eritja R, Alcaide M, Montalvo T, Sorıguer RC, Jordi F (2011) Host-feeding patterns of native Culex pipiens and invasive Aedes albopictus mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in urban zones from Barcelona, Spain. J Med Entomol 48(4):956–960. https://doi.org/10.1603/me11016
Nauen R (2007) Insecticide resistance in disease vectors of public health importance. Pest Manag Sci 63(7):628–633. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.1406
Nayar JD, Sauerman JR (1975) The effects of nutrition on survival and fecundity in Florida mosquitoes Part 3. Utilization of blood and sugar for fecundity. J Med Entomol 12(2):220–225. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmedent/12.2.220
O’Donnell AJ, Rund SC, Reece SE (2019) Time-of-day of blood-feeding: effects on mosquito life history and malaria transmission. Parasit Vectors 12:301–306. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-019-3513-9
Olanga EA, Okal MN, Mbadi PA, Kokwaro ED, Mukabana WR (2010) Attraction of Anopheles gambiae to odor baits augmented with heat and moisture. Malaria J 9(1):6–15
Olayemi IK, Ande AT (2009) Life table analysis of Anopheles gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae) in relation to malaria transmission. J Vector Borne Dis 46(4):295–299
Orsborne J, Furuya-Kanamori L, Jeffries CL, Kristan M, Mohammed AR, Afrane YA, O’Reilly K, Massad E, Drakeley C, Walker T, Yakob L (2019) Investigating the blood-host plasticity and dispersal of Anopheles coluzzii using a novel field-based methodology. Parasit Vectors 12:143–150. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-019-3401-3
Oter K, Gunay F, Tuzer E, Linton YM, Bellini R, Alten B (2013) First record of Stegomyia albopicta in Turkey determined by active ovitrap surveillance and DNA barcoding. Vector Borne Zoonot Dis 13(10):753–761
Ponlawat A, Harrington LC (2005) Blood feeding patterns of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Thailand. J Med Entomol 42:844–849. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmedent/42.5.844
Richards SL, Ponnusamy L, Unnasch TR, Hassan HK, Apperson CS (2006) Host-feeding patterns of Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in relation to availability of human and domestic animals in suburban landscapes of central North Carolina. J Med Entomol 43:543–551. https://doi.org/10.1603/0022-2585(2006)43[543:hpoaad]2.0.co;2
Richards SL, Anderson SL, Yost SA (2012) Effects of blood meal source on the reproduction of Culex pipiens quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae). J Vector Ecol 37(1):1–7. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1948-7134.2012.00194.x
Robert V (1998) Age grading Anopheles arabiensis: Their gorging and surviving responses using a membrane feeding system. Parasite 5(1):87–90. https://doi.org/10.1051/parasite/1998051087
Roitberg BD, Gordon I (2005) Does Anopheles blood meal-fecundity curve, curve? J Vector Ecol 30(1):83–86
Rothman SE, Jones JA, LaDeau SL, Leisnham PT (2021) Higher West Nile virus infection in Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) and Culex (Diptera: Culicidae) mosquitoes from lower income neighborhoods in urban Baltimore, MD. J Med Entomol 58(3):1424–1428. https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjaa262
Rutledge L, Ward R, Gould D (1964) Studies on the feeding response of mosquitoes to nutritive solutions in a new membrane feeder. Mosq News 24(4):407–409
Samish M, Kozlowska A, Maramorosch K (1995) Factors affecting membrane feeding of Anopheles stephensi. J Am Mosq Contr Assoc 11(4):408–415
Schaffner F, Bellini R, Petrić D, Scholte EJ, Zeller H, Marrama Rakotoarivony L (2013) Development of guidelines for the surveillance of invasive mosquitoes in Europe. Parasit Vectors 6(1):1–10. https://doi.org/10.1186/1756-3305-6-209
Simpson JE, Hurtado PJ, Medlock J, Molaei G, Andreadis TG, Galvani AP (2012) Vector host-feeding preferences drive transmission of multihost pathogens: West Nile virus as a model system. Proc Biol Sci 279:925–933. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2011.1282
Siria DJ, Batista EPA, Opiyo MA, Melo EF, Sumaye RD, Ngowo HS, Eiras AE, Okumu FO (2018) Evaluation of a simple polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE)-based membrane for blood-feeding of malaria and dengue fever vectors in the laboratory. Parasit Vectors 11:236–240. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-018-2823-7
Sivan A, Shriram AN, Sunish IP, Vidhya PT (2015) Host-feeding pattern of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae) in heterogeneous landscapes of South Andaman, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Parasitol Res 114(9):3539–3546. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-015-4634-5
Suh E, Grossman MK, Waite JL, Dennington NL, Sherrard-Smith E, Churcher TS, Thomas MB (2020) The influence of feeding behavior and temperature on the capacity of mosquitoes to transmit malaria. Nat Ecol Evol 4(7):940–951. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-020-1182-x
Suleman M, Shirin S (1981) Comparison of the reproductive capacity of Culex quinquefasciatus Say fed on cold and warm-blooded vertebrates. Pakistan J Zool 13(2):221–228
Takken W (1999) Chemical signals affecting mosquito behavior. Invertebr Reprod Develop 36:67–71
Takken W, Verhulst NO (2013) Host preferences of blood-feeding mosquitoes. Annu Rev Entomol 58:433–453. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ento-120811-153618
Tandom N, Ray S (2000) Host feeding pattern of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Kolkata, India. Dengue Bull 24:117–120
Taylor P, Hurd H (2001) The influence of host hematocrit on the blood feeding success of Anopheles stephensi: implications for enhanced malaria transmission. Parasitology 122(5):491–496. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0031182001007776
Thomas J, Bailey D, Dame D (1985) Maintenance of Anopheles albimanus on frozen blood. J Am Mosquito Contr Assoc 1(4):538–540
Touray M, Bakirci S, Ulug D, Gulsen SH, Cimen H, Yavasoglu SI, Simsek FM, Ertabaklar H, Ozbel Y, Hazir S (2023) Arthropod vectors of disease agents: their role in public and veterinary health in Turkiye and their control measures. Acta Trop 31:106893. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actatropica.2023.106893
Turell MJ, Dohm DJ, Sardelis MR, O’guinn ML, Andreadis TG, Blow JA (2005) An update on the potential of North American mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) to transmit West Nile virus. J Med Entomol 42(1):57–62. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmedent/42.1.57
Woke P (1937) Comparative effects of the blood of different species of vertebrates on egg-production of Aedes aegypti Linn. Am J Trop Med 17(5):729–745
Xue RD, Ali A, Barnard DR (2008) Host species diversity andpostblood feeding carbohydrate availability enhance survival of females and fecundity in Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae). Exp Parasitol 119(2):225–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.exppara.2008.01.007
Yavaşoğlu Sİ (2021) First report on mild insecticide resistance in newly established Aegean Aedes albopictus populations of Turkey. Turk J Zoology 45(3):223–234. https://doi.org/10.3906/zoo-2102-20
Zhang YM, Guo XX, Jiang SF, Li CX, Xing D, Zhang HD, Zhao TY (2022) The potential vector competence and overwintering of West Nile virus in vector Aedes albopictus in China. Front Microbiol 13:888751. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.888751
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Dr. Mustapha Touray for his assistance in developing the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Fatma Bursali is responsible for planning and designing the study, conducting analysis, interpretingresults and drafting the original manuscript. Fatih Mehmet Simsek was responsible for the analysis and interpretation of the results and the critical evaluation and editing of the manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics committee approval
Ethical approval was obtained from the ethics committee of Aydin Adnan Menderes University, Turkey for artificial blood feeding experiments (approval number 2015-714) and natural feeding experiments (approval number 64583101/2022-006). Human blood was obtained from the Blood Bank of Aydin Adnan Menderes University (approval number 2015-116). Experiments involving the use of human blood were conducted according to the principles expressed in the Declaration of Helsinki.
Conflict of interest
There are no conflicts of interest.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Bursali, F., Simsek, F.M. Effects of different feeding methods and hosts on the fecundity and blood-feeding behavior of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus (Diptera: Culicidae). Biologia (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-023-01514-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11756-023-01514-3