title: Patterns of sugar feeding and host plant preferences in adult males of An. gambiae (Diptera: Culicidae).
abstract: Sugar feeding by male mosquitoes is critical for their success in mating competition. However, the facets of sugar source finding under natural conditions remain unknown. Here, evidence obtained in Western Burkina Faso indicated that the distribution of An. gambiae s.s. (M and S molecular forms) males across different peri-domestic habitats is dependent on the availability of potential sugar sources from which they obtain more favorable sites for feeding or resting. Among field-collected anophelines, a higher proportion of specimens containing fructose were found on flowering Mangifera indica (Anacardiaceae), Dolonix regia (Fabaceae), Thevetia neriifolia (Apocynaceae), Senna siamea, and Cassia sieberiana (both Fabaceae) compared to that recorded on other nearby plants, suggesting that some plants are favored for use as a sugar source over others. Y-tube olfactometer assays with newly-emerged An. gambiae s.s. exposed to odors from individual plants and some combinations thereof showed that males use odor cues to guide their preference. The number of sugar-positive males was variable in a no-choice cage assay, consistent with the olfactory response patterns towards corresponding odor stimuli. These experiments provide the first evidence both in field and laboratory conditions for previously unstudied interactions between males of An. gambiae and natural sugar sources.
authors.affiliation: IRD, Research Unit #016, Biology and Control of Vector Populations, BP 64501, 34394 Montpellier Cedex 5, France.
authors.forename: Louis-Clément
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Gouagna
authors.forename: Rodrigue S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Poueme
authors.forename: Kounbobr Roch
authors.initials: KR
authors.lastname: Dabiré
authors.forename: Jean-Bosco
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Ouédraogo
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Fontenille
authors.forename: Frédéric
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Simard
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000502:physiology*; D002050:Burkina Faso; D002241:Carbohydrates; D017753:Ecosystem; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D010944:Plants / Q000469:parasitology*
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates