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Insects
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Mosquito: Ecology, Behavior and Molecular Biology
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Mosquito: Ecology, Behavior and Molecular Biology

A special issue of Insects (ISSN 2075-4450). This special issue belongs to the section "Insect Behavior and Pathology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2023) | Viewed by 10727

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Alon Silberbush

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Biology and the Environment, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
Interests: oviposition; metamorphosis; kairomones; habitat selection

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) are best known for their role as vectors of numerous parasites and pathogens. In addition to their medical and veterinary importance, the mosquito’s semiaquatic life cycle, rapid development and high abundance and distribution abilities make them interesting target species for studies in general ecology as well as physiological studies. This Special Issue aims to cover recent studies in mosquito research. We will accept both original research papers and literature reviews regarding mosquito behavior, life history, molecular biology control techniques etc. Preference will be given to studies combining field and laboratory data. We look forward to receiving your submissions.

Dr. Alon Silberbush
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Insects is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mosquito behavior: location of mate, food, bloodmeal and oviposition location
  • larval reaction to competition
  • predators or different food sources

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 1040 KiB  
Article
A High Proportion of Malaria Vector Biting and Resting Indoors despite Extensive LLIN Coverage in Côte d’Ivoire
by Naminata Tondossama, Chiara Virgillito, Zanakoungo Ibrahima Coulibaly, Verena Pichler, Ibrahima Dia, Alessandra della Torre, Andre Offianan Touré, Akré Maurice Adja and Beniamino Caputo
Insects 2023, 14(9), 758; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14090758 - 12 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1019
Abstract
Malaria is still a leading cause mortality in Côte d’Ivoire despite extensive LLINs coverage. We present the results of an entomological survey conducted in a coastal and in an inland village with the aim to estimate Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) female’s abundance [...] Read more.
Malaria is still a leading cause mortality in Côte d’Ivoire despite extensive LLINs coverage. We present the results of an entomological survey conducted in a coastal and in an inland village with the aim to estimate Anopheles gambiae sensu lato (s.l.) female’s abundance indoor/outdoor and Plasmodium falciparum infection rate and analyze the occurrence of blood-feeding in relation to LLINs use. Pyrethrum spray (PSC) and window exit traps (WT) collections were carried out to target endophagic/endophilic and endophagic/exophilic females, respectively. Data on LLINs use in sampled houses were collected. (1) high levels of malaria transmission despite LLINs coverage >70% (~1 An. gambiae s.l. predicted mean/person/night and ~5% Plasmodium falciparum infection rate); (2) 46% of females in the PSC sample were blood-fed, suggesting that they fed on an unprotected host inside the house; (3) 81% of females in WT were unfed, suggesting that they were leaving the house to find an available host. Model estimates that if everyone sleeps under LLINs the probability for a mosquito to bite decreases of 48% and 95% in the coastal and inland village, respectively. The results show a high proportion of mosquito biting and resting indoors despite extensive LLINs. The biological/epidemiological determinants of accounting for these results merit deeper investigations. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mosquito: Ecology, Behavior and Molecular Biology)
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14 pages, 920 KiB  
Article
Effects of Temperature on Blood Feeding and Activity Levels in the Tiger Mosquito, Aedes albopictus
by Katie Costanzo and Dominic Occhino
Insects 2023, 14(9), 752; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14090752 - 08 Sep 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1317
Abstract
Temperature has been shown to have profound effects on mosquito population dynamics and life history. Understanding these effects can provide insight into how mosquito populations and the diseases they transmit may vary across space and time and under the changes imposed by climate [...] Read more.
Temperature has been shown to have profound effects on mosquito population dynamics and life history. Understanding these effects can provide insight into how mosquito populations and the diseases they transmit may vary across space and time and under the changes imposed by climate change. In this study, we evaluated how temperature affects the blood feeding and general activity patterns in the globally invasive mosquito species Aedes albopictus. We reared cohorts of Ae. albopictus from hatch through adulthood across three temperatures (26 °C, 29 °C, and 32 °C). The propensity of adult females to take a blood meal and the size of the blood meal were compared across temperatures. We also observed the overall activity levels of adult females over a 13.5 h period. At the highest temperature tested (32 °C), females were less likely to take a blood meal and were most active, as measured through frequency of movement. We postulate that our highest-temperature treatment imposes heat stress on adult female Ae. albopictus, where many abstain from blood feeding and increase movement in an attempt to escape the heat stress and find a more favorable resting location. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mosquito: Ecology, Behavior and Molecular Biology)
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23 pages, 7666 KiB  
Article
Mapping the Auditory Space of Culex pipiens Female Mosquitoes in 3D
by Dmitry N. Lapshin and Dmitry D. Vorontsov
Insects 2023, 14(9), 743; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14090743 - 04 Sep 2023
Viewed by 949
Abstract
The task of directional hearing faces most animals that possess ears. They approach this task in different ways, but a common trait is the use of binaural cues to find the direction to the source of sound. In insects, the task is further [...] Read more.
The task of directional hearing faces most animals that possess ears. They approach this task in different ways, but a common trait is the use of binaural cues to find the direction to the source of sound. In insects, the task is further complicated by their small size and, hence, minute temporal and level differences between two ears. A single symmetric flagellar particle velocity receiver, such as the antenna of a mosquito, should not be able to discriminate between the two opposite directions along the vector of the sound wave. Paired antennae of mosquitoes presume the usage of binaural hearing, but its mechanisms are expected to be significantly different from the ones typical for the pressure receivers. However, the directionality of flagellar auditory organs has received little attention. Here, we measured the in-flight orientation of antennae in female Culex pipiens pipiens mosquitoes and obtained a detailed physiological mapping of the Johnston’s organ directionality at the level of individual sensory units. By combining these data, we created a three-dimensional model of the mosquito’s auditory space. The orientation of the antennae was found to be coordinated with the neuronal asymmetry of the Johnston’s organs to maintain a uniformly shaped auditory space, symmetric relative to a flying mosquito. The overlap of the directional characteristics of the left and right sensory units was found to be optimal for binaural hearing focused primarily in front of, above and below a flying mosquito. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mosquito: Ecology, Behavior and Molecular Biology)
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13 pages, 1361 KiB  
Article
Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus Adults Found Coexisting in Urban and Semiurban Dwellings of Southern Chiapas, Mexico
by Alma D. Lopez-Solis, Francisco Solis-Santoyo, Karla Saavedra-Rodriguez, Daniel Sanchez-Guillen, Alfredo Castillo-Vera, Rebeca Gonzalez-Gomez, Americo D. Rodriguez and Patricia Penilla-Navarro
Insects 2023, 14(6), 565; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14060565 - 17 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1293
Abstract
Tapachula, Mexico, a tropical city, is an endemic area for dengue, in addition to several outbreaks in the last decade with chikungunya and zika. As part of the migratory corridor from Central to North America and the risks of scattered infectious diseases that [...] Read more.
Tapachula, Mexico, a tropical city, is an endemic area for dengue, in addition to several outbreaks in the last decade with chikungunya and zika. As part of the migratory corridor from Central to North America and the risks of scattered infectious diseases that this implies, the identification and distribution of potential disease vectors in and around residential areas are essential in terms of entomological surveillance for the prevention of disease outbreaks. The identification of mosquito species of medical importance coexisting in houses and cemeteries in Tapachula and two semiurban sites in southern Chiapas was investigated. Adult mosquitoes were collected from May to December 2018, resting inside and outside houses and in the tombstones and fallen tree leaves in cemeteries. A total of 10,883 mosquitoes belonging to three vector species were collected across 20 sites; 6738 were from neighborhood houses, of which 55.4% were Culex quinquefasciatus, 41.6% Aedes aegypti, and 2.9% Ae. albopictus. Aedes aegypti was the most common mosquito resting inside houses (56.7%), while Ae. albopictus and Cx. quinquefasciatus were mostly found resting outside houses (75.7%). In the cemeteries, Cx. quinquefasciatus (60.8%) and Ae. albopictus (37.3%) were the most abundant, while Ae. aegypti (1.9%) was the least abundant. This is the first report to identify adults of three major disease vector species coexisting in the domestic environment of urban and semiurban sites and Ae. albopictus adult resting inside of urban houses in Mexico. It would be opportune to consider comprehensive strategies that can be applied in this region to control the three species at the same time and avoid outbreaks of the diseases they transmit. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mosquito: Ecology, Behavior and Molecular Biology)
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10 pages, 601 KiB  
Article
Effects of Temperature and Nutrition during the Larval Period on Life History Traits in an Invasive Malaria Vector Anopheles stephensi
by Nobuko Tuno, Thahsin Farjana, Yui Uchida, Mitsuhiro Iyori and Shigeto Yoshida
Insects 2023, 14(6), 543; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14060543 - 10 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1527
Abstract
Anopheles stephensi is an Asian and Middle Eastern malaria vector, and it has recently spread to the African continent. It is needed to measure how the malaria parasite infection in A. stephensi is influenced by environmental factors to predict its expansion in [...] Read more.
Anopheles stephensi is an Asian and Middle Eastern malaria vector, and it has recently spread to the African continent. It is needed to measure how the malaria parasite infection in A. stephensi is influenced by environmental factors to predict its expansion in a new environment. Effects of temperature and food conditions during larval periods on larval mortality, larval period, female wing size, egg production, egg size, adult longevity, and malaria infection rate were studied using a laboratory strain. Larval survival and female wing size were generally reduced when reared at higher temperatures and with a low food supply during the larval period. Egg production was not significantly affected by temperature during the larval period. Egg size was generally smaller in females reared at higher temperatures during the larval period. The infection rate of mosquitoes that fed on blood from malaria-infected mice was not affected by rearing temperature or food conditions during the larval period. Higher temperatures may reduce infection. A. stephensi; however, larger individuals can still be infective. We suggest that routinely recording the body size of adults in field surveys is effective in finding productive larval breeding sites and in predicting malaria risk. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mosquito: Ecology, Behavior and Molecular Biology)
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15 pages, 3839 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Modern Techniques for Species Identification of Lutzia Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) in Thailand: Geometric Morphometrics and DNA Barcoding
by Sedthapong Laojun, Tanasak Changbunjong and Tanawat Chaiphongpachara
Insects 2023, 14(1), 78; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects14010078 - 12 Jan 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1882
Abstract
There are four species of Lutzia mosquitoes in Thailand, including Lutzia chiangmaiensis, Lt. fuscana, Lt. halifaxii, and Lt. vorax. The accurate species identification of adult Lutzia mosquitoes based on morphological features requires many body parts, including the abdominal terga and [...] Read more.
There are four species of Lutzia mosquitoes in Thailand, including Lutzia chiangmaiensis, Lt. fuscana, Lt. halifaxii, and Lt. vorax. The accurate species identification of adult Lutzia mosquitoes based on morphological features requires many body parts, including the abdominal terga and wing. However, species identification is difficult in the case of damaged specimens when some of their morphological character is missing due to transit or gathering in the field. Thus, we evaluated the efficacy of the landmark-based geometric morphometric (GM) approach for the discrimination of Lutzia species in Thailand. In addition, DNA barcoding was also used in parallel with the GM approach to identify the species. Larvae of Lutzia were collected, raised into adults, and identified based on their morphological characteristics. The validated reclassification test results clearly demonstrated that wing shape resulted in a high level of success in identification (correct identifications ranged from 92.50% to 100%); however, based on the DNA barcoding analyses, our results showed that it was poorly effective in identifying Lt. fuscana and Lt. halifaxii based on an overlap between the intraspecific and interspecific divergence. Moreover, our survey results provide updates on the distribution of Lt. chiangmaiensis and Lt. vorax in Thailand. This research will help medical entomologists more efficiently identify mosquitoes in the genus Lutzia, resulting in more effective mosquito control and surveillance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mosquito: Ecology, Behavior and Molecular Biology)
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14 pages, 889 KiB  
Article
Copper Exposure Affects Anti-Predatory Behaviour and Acetylcholinesterase Levels in Culex pipiens (Diptera, Culicidae)
by Nermeen R. Amer, Sharon P. Lawler, Nawal M. Zohdy, Aly Younes, Wael M. ElSayed, Guillaume Wos, Samah Abdelrazek, Hind Omer and Richard E. Connon
Insects 2022, 13(12), 1151; https://doi.org/10.3390/insects13121151 - 14 Dec 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1522
Abstract
Copper is an essential metal that occurs chronically in the environment and affects the development and physiology of aquatic insects. In excess amounts, it can impair their nervous system and behaviour. We tested the anti-predatory behaviour of Cx. pipiens larvae after seven days [...] Read more.
Copper is an essential metal that occurs chronically in the environment and affects the development and physiology of aquatic insects. In excess amounts, it can impair their nervous system and behaviour. We tested the anti-predatory behaviour of Cx. pipiens larvae after seven days exposure with several concentrations of copper up to 500 mg L−1. We measured responses to non- consumptive (predation cues) and consumptive predation (dragonfly larvae) across two generations. We also tested the accumulated effect of copper on AChE enzyme activity. We exposed half of treated and control larvae to predation cues (water with predator odour and crushed conspecifics) and the other half to water without predation cues. We evaluated total distance moved and velocity. Copper reduced the distance moved and velocity, with stronger effects in the second generation. Copper had no significant effect on larvae eaten by dragonflies. Copper inhibited the AChE enzyme across both generations at 500 µg L−1. Copper can affect the nervous system directly by inhibiting AChE activity, and possibly also by impairing the olfaction sensors of the larvae, resulting in larval inability to detect predation cues. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mosquito: Ecology, Behavior and Molecular Biology)
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