Abstract
The Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, is a competent vector for arboviruses and recently was implicated as the vector of the first autochthonous cases of dengue and chikungunya in southern Europe. The objective of this study was to analyze the flight performance of female Ae. albopictus of different ages that were starved, sugar-fed, or sugar-fed and blood-fed, using flight mills. After three days of starvation post emergence, females flew an average distance of 0.7 ± 0.5 km in 1.9 ± 1.5 h during a 16 h trial period, whereas sugar- or sugar- and blood-fed females of this age covered a significantly higher distance of around 3 km with a mean total flight time of around 6 h. The age of females (up to four weeks) had no effect on performance. The average of maximal continuous flight segments of sugar-fed (2.14 ± 0.69 h) and blood-fed (3.17 ± 0.82 h) females was distinctly higher than of starved females (0.38 ± 0.15 h) of which most flyers (83%) performed maximal flight segments that lasted no longer than 0.5 h. Overall, the results for the laboratory monitored flight performance of Ae. albopictus confirm their ability to disperse a few kilometres between breeding site and host.
Highlights
The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus (Skuse) has spread from Southeast Asia to Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas over the past 30 years
Aedes albopictus is a competent vector to transmit dengue virus, chikungunya virus, and other arboviruses to humans [8]. It has not been implicated in dengue or chikungunya epidemics in the Americas, but it was the evident vector in recent outbreaks of chikungunya fever on islands of the Indian Ocean and in Italy [9±11]
The flight performance of susceptible female mosquitoes is an important determinant of their host-seeking ability, dispersal potential, and longevity [16], all of which affect vectorial capacity
Summary
The Asian tiger mosquito Aedes albopictus (Skuse) has spread from Southeast Asia to Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas over the past 30 years. This remarkable expansion was aided by the global trade of goods, especially scrap tires [1] and plants like lucky bamboo [2], carrying mosquito eggs or larvae. Aedes albopictus is a competent vector to transmit dengue virus, chikungunya virus, and other arboviruses to humans [8]. The goals of our study were to determine the effects of aging and nutritive states on the flight performance of female Ae. albopictus, providing insight into the potential dispersal capability of this important arbovirus vector and its displacement of
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