Blood-feeding habits of four species of mosquito found in Hawaii.

Abstract

The four species of blood-sucking mosquito found in Hawaii (Culex quinquefasciatus, Aedes albopictus, Aedes aegypti, and Aedes vexans nocturnus) were collected from November 1965 through May 1968, and the blood-meals identified to establish host range. C. quinquefasciatus fed mostly on birds but also fed on a wide range of mammals. A. v. nocturnus fed only on mammals, with horses and cows being the predominant hosts. A. albopictus and A. aegypti fed almost exclusively on mammals, with A. aegypti feeding on man more than on any other host. The host-feeding patterns of these four mosquitoes in Hawaii indicate that they might be ecologically capable of serving as enzootic vectors of certain arboviruses.