title: Survivorship and fecundity of Culex pipiens pallens feeding on flowering plants and seed pods with differential preferences.
abstract: Adult mosquitoes rely on ingestion of sugar from plants to survive, swarm and mate. Culex pipiens pallens Coguillett is the primary vector of lymphatic filariasis and epidemic encephalitis. Little is known about the effect of feeding on different sugar sources on the survivorship and fecundity of Cx. pipiens pallens. In the present study, newly emerged mosquitoes were exposed to several flowering plant and seed pod species with different olfactory preferences, and the survival times of mosquitoes exposed to these sugar sources were determined. The proportions of mosquitoes that ingested sugar from host plants were investigated by cold anthrone tests. The numbers of eggs per egg raft laid by mosquitoes were compared when they were provided with different sugar sources and one blood meal. The results revealed that feeding on different kinds of sugar sources significantly affected female and male mosquitoes' survival times. Cold anthrone tests indicated that the proportions of sugar-positive mosquitoes from different nutritional regimes within 24h corresponded to the preference rankings of Cx. pipiens pallens to these sugar sources, and rapid declines in the proportions of surviving individuals might be attributed to their insufficient ingestion of sugar from nutritional regimes. Feeding on different sugar sources strongly affected the proportions of engorged mosquitoes, and females that had fed on their preferred sugar sources laid more eggs than mosquitoes provided with less preferred sugar sources. The results would provide insights in developing mosquito control strategies that target the sugar feeding behavior of mosquitoes.
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 388 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
authors.forename: Bao-Ting
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 388 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Mei
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Ding
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 388 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Chang
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.affiliation: Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 200 Shiqiao Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310021, China.
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 388 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China.
authors.forename: Hong-Jie
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Ministry of Agriculture Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 388 Yuhangtang Road, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310058, China. Electronic address: mojianchu@zju.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jian-Chu
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Mo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003465:Culex / Q000502:physiology*; D004660:Encephalitis / Q000453:epidemiology; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D005368:Filariasis / Q000453:epidemiology; D035264:Flowers; D006801:Humans; D007303:Insect Vectors / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012639:Seeds; D015996:Survival Rate
keywords: Culex pipiens pallens; Fecundity; Longevity; Nutritional regimes; Sugar feeding