Abstract
Infections of Aedes triseriatus with the gregarine parasite Ascogregarina barretti were examined to determine the influence of this parasite on host development and survival, and to quantify the effects of this parasite on Dirofilaria immitis development. Infections with A. barretti caused a reduction in the weight of female pupae and a slight increase in the time to pupation of males. Male pupal weight, female time to pupation, larval mortality, adult emergence, and adult male survival were not affected by A. barretti. Over 95% of the gregarine-infected and uninfected adult females that ingested comparable levels of microfilariae of D. immitis became infected, and in over 90% of the mosquitoes D. immitis completed development to the infective L3 stage. No significant differences in the number of infective larvae were found between gregarine-infected and uninfected mosquitoes. However, in the Malpighian tubules, significantly more L3 and L2 larvae were found in gregarine-infected mosquitoes. The survival of adult female Ae. triseriatus was not influenced by either gregarine infections, D. immitis infections, or concomitant infections with both parasites. Overall, infections of A. barretti do not appear to affect the vector competence of Ae. triseriatus for D. immitis.
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