Abstract
BackgroundSugar feeding is a fundamental behaviour of many mosquito species. For Aedes albopictus, an important vector of dengue virus and chikungunya virus, little is known about its sugar-feeding behaviour, and no studies have been conducted on this in the southern hemisphere. This knowledge is pivotal for determining the potential of attractive targeted sugar baits (ATSBs) to control this important vector.MethodsThe prevalence of sugar was assessed in 1808 Ae. albopictus from Masig Island, Torres Strait, Australia collected between 13 and 25 March 2020. Fructose presence and content in field-collected Ae. albopictus were quantified using the cold anthrone assay.ResultsSignificantly more male (35.8%) than female (28.4%) Ae. albopictus were sugar fed. There was a significant interaction between sex and time of day on the probability of capturing sugar-fed Ae. albopictus. For both sexes, fructose prevalence and content were higher in mosquitoes caught in the morning than in the afternoon. Female Ae. albopictus collected in the residential habitat were significantly more likely to be sugar fed than those collected in the woodland habitat.ConclusionsThese findings provide baseline information about the sugar-feeding patterns of Ae. albopictus and provide essential information to enable an assessment of the potential of ATSBs for vector suppression and control on Masig Island, with relevance to other locations where this species occurs.Graphical abstract
Highlights
IntroductionFor Aedes albopictus, an important vector of dengue virus and chikungunya virus, little is known about its sugar-feeding behaviour, and no studies have been conducted on this in the southern hemisphere
Sugar feeding is a fundamental behaviour of many mosquito species
Fructose content of Ae. aegypti killed on the day of collection did not differ between the frozen (P = 0.45) and heat-fixed (P = 0.33) treatments, but was significantly higher in these treatments compared to those in which Ae. aegypti was stored crushed (P < 0.0001) or whole in 80% EtOH (P < 0.0001)
Summary
For Aedes albopictus, an important vector of dengue virus and chikungunya virus, little is known about its sugar-feeding behaviour, and no studies have been conducted on this in the southern hemisphere. This knowledge is pivotal for determining the potential of attractive targeted sugar baits (ATSBs) to control this important vector. Swan et al Parasites Vectors (2021) 14:520 mosquitoes ingest sugar from a variety of sources, including floral and extrafloral nectar, fruit and seedpods, plant tissues, honeydew and ant regurgitate [11,12,13,14] These sugar meals provide sustenance for basic energetic demands, such as host- and oviposition-seeking flights [11, 15]. Deployments of ATSBs in small-scale field trials in Florida and Israel demonstrated substantial reductions in populations of Ae. albopictus [18,19,20]
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