title: Different blood and sugar feeding regimes affect the productivity of Anopheles arabiensis colonies (Diptera: Culicidae).
abstract: The success of the sterile insect technique for the management of mosquito populations depends on the release of large numbers of competitive sterile male insects. Sustainable mosquito production can only be obtained when proper mass-rearing equipment and adequate methods are available, including those to feed blood to the female mosquitoes. The blood feeding apparatus Hemotek consists of a small aluminum plate to which a collagen membrane is fixed and filled with blood kept warm by an electric heating element. A larger aluminum plate was developed to feed a larger number of female mosquitoes with blood that is kept at a constant temperature. The effect of different blood feeding regimes (feeding frequency and time the blood is kept in the Hemotek) and sugar deprivation before blood feeding on egg production of female Anopheles arabiensis Patton was tested. Egg production was higher when blood was offered to the mosquitoes every day as compared with every 2 or 4 d. Sugar deprivation for 7 h before blood feeding enhanced egg production by 50% compared with female mosquitoes that had continuous access to sugar. Neither male nor female survival was impaired. Finally, we showed that the same blood could be kept warm and used over several hours to feed mosquitoes in multiple cages without any impact on egg production or hatch rate. Being able to use the same blood over extended periods would save considerable time, handling, and funds.
authors.affiliation: Insect Pest Control Laboratory, Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/International Atomic Energy Agency, Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture, International Atomic Energy Agency, Wagramerstrasse 5, PO Box 100, A-1400 Vienna, Austria. d.damiens@iaea.org
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Damiens
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Soliban
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Balestrino
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Alsir
authors.forename: M J B
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Vreysen
authors.forename: J R L
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Gilles
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000821:Animal Feed / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D000852:Anopheles / Q000502:physiology*; D001790:Blood Physiological Phenomena; D002241:Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004032:Diet; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005508:Food Deprivation; D009032:Mosquito Control / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D012098:Reproduction; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D002241:Carbohydrates